Ultraportable laptops are designed to be highly portable even at the expense of certain features. A typical ultraportable weighs less than 4.5 pounds making it extremely easy to carry while traveling. Screen sizes range from 11 to 13.4-inches in size. Some may completely remove or externalize components such as the DVD drive. Here are my selections for the best ultraportable laptops based upon a different tasks or features.
1. Best Value Ultraportable - HP Pavilion dm1-3020us
Netbooks may be extremely cheap but they lack many capabilities. The HP Pavilion dm1-3020us provides the form factor of a netbook but offers so much more and all for a price around $500. It is based on AMD's new E-350 Fusion processor. It isn't going to be a super fast system but it can handle your basic web and productivity tasks easily including HD video streaming thanks to the Radeon HD 6310M graphics built onto the CPU. Battery life doesn't suffer as much as previous AMD processors either so it should provide a near all day computing experience. For those that might want some additional performance and a a larger screen, the Acer Aspire TimelineX 3820T is a good alternative at $650.
2. Best Overall Ultraportable - Apple MacBook Pro 13
If you want a very small laptop as your primary system but don't want to sacrifice features, then it is tough to really beat the latest Apple MacBook Pro 13. The system corrects many of the problems that Apple left behind in the last update by using the new Intel Core i5-2410M dual core processor that blows past the previous generation of Core processors. With 320GB of hard drive space and an internal DVD burner it has plenty of storage options. Battery life is also one of the best. The big downside to the update is the fact that Apple didn't upgrade the display and it only has the integrated graphics. Prices start at $1199. Those wanting a bit more storage space at the cost of performance might want to look at the Toshiba Portege R700.
3. Best Battery Life - Apple MacBook Pro 13
Apple offers the best overall battery life from its Apple MacBook Pro 13 thanks to its lithium polymer battery. Apple claims over seven hours of wireless web and this is fairly accurate with five and a quarter from more demanding DVD playback. Performance is excellent thanks to the new 2011 Core processors from Intel. Unlike the past model, the graphics do suffer a bit from the now integrated only Intel HD graphics and a display panel that isn't as nice as the MacBook Air 13's. Prices start at $1199. For those looking at a more flexible but long running laptop, the Lenovo ThinkPad X220 offers slight higher levels of performance but an optional slice battery for even long running times.
4. Best Ultrathin - Apple MacBook Air 13
Apple took its already slim MacBook Air and gave it an even slimmer profile with its latest edition of the 13-inch ultrathin laptop. Performance may be a bit more limited due to the older Core 2 Duo processor but it doesn't feel all that slow thanks to the 128GB solid state drive. The 13.3-inch display is also one of the better on the market thanks to its higher 1440x900 resolution. Battery life is surprisingly long for such a compact system. One thing to be warned of is that it can't be upgraded for memory or storage space after purchase. This might be a big issue for some since it ships with 2GB of RAM standard. Prices start at $1299. If you want an even more compact and slim system, the MacBook Air 11 is a bit more affordable as well.
5. Best Display - Lenovo ThinkPad X220
For anyone who does serious graphics work, the quality of the display is going to be a major factor. Lenovo's ThinkPad X220 with the optional Premium HD 12.5-inch display is a real standout for ultraportable laptops. This 1366x768 display uses the IPS based technology that provides it with outstanding levels of color and some superb viewing angles. The system also offers some solid performance with the new Intel Core 2011 processors. Add in some nice storage options and good ports and this make an outstanding graphics workstation class laptop in a small package. Prices range around $1299. For an even more portable laptop with a high quality display, Apple's MacBook Air 13 offers higher resolution and some great color.
6. Best Gaming Ultraportable - Alienware M11x
Who would have imagined an 11-inch laptop being able to handle computer gaming? That is exactly what Dell did with the Alienware M11x and for $1000. The system now features the Intel Core i5-520UM dual core processor and 4GB of DDR3 memory and then adds an NVIDIA GeForce GT335M graphics processor and a 1366x768 11.6-inch display on top of it. It also has a DisplayPort, HDMI and VGA video connectors for use with external displays. Now, there are some downsides including a thicker and heavier case as well as a fairly noisy fan when running it to full performance. Of course, there isn't really any other laptop in this size range with such features to even compete with it.
Best Ultraportable Laptops originally appeared on http://compreviews.about.com/od/ultraportables/tp/Ultraportables.htm
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