So i'm confused as to what the difference is between a regular laptop and an ultrabook? I'm looking into pros and cons of owning an ultrabook. Any of you guys own an ultrabook? if so, how do you like it so far? Shed some light please

Thanks!!

it's just a gimmick to classify MacBook Air-like laptops, that are thin and light.

I don't know much about them but here goes.

Pros: Thin, look nice and sleek.
- Lightweight (if that matters.)
Cons: Might heat up quickly ( i had one for about 1 day and returned it because it got uncomfortably hot in 5-10 minutes, it was a samsung in case you were wondering)
- if you have a problem with the battery you have to take the whole laptop to be examined/checked. Because the battery isn't easily removable. So you would be stuck with no laptop for however long it might take. (future shop worker told me this one)

Thats all i know.

Ultrabooks are typically at the thinnest, lightest, and smallest end of the laptop spectrum. Think the MacBook Air. However, they also typically are not as powerful as thicker laptops, and ship with SSDs instead of full HDDs (i.e. faster boot times, but significantly less storage space). Also, and most notably, all ultrabooks do not have a CD/DVD drive--this shaves off a ton of weight and space at some minor inconvenience.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultrabook

The best ultrabook I know of out there at quite a fair price: ASUS Zenbook UX32VD. 1080p display, light and thin (it's an ultrabook after all), really good build (that doesn't just try to mimic the Air), average battery life, SSD+HDD hybrid drive gives you the best of both worlds, powerful processor (although it's Ivy Bridge, not Haswell) and it comes with a discrete GPU. And it goes for about $1100.

I"ll take a shot.

Ultrabooks:
pros:
-smaller and lighter than regular laptops
-longer battery life

Cons:
-mobile CPUs which are generally weaker than the midrange CPUs in laptops
-smaller screen(my IMO)
-no DVD/Blu-ray drive for movies
-more portability results in extra cost

The gist of it. Choose what works for you

I have a 11 inch macbook air and like others said, it is light and thin but less powerful than a bigger laptop. It is super easy to carry around and is big enough to see well in class without being too big. Personally, I hate people who bring 17 in laptops to class and half of it is on my lap too.

I only use mine for school work and safe web browsing (ie. no torrents, or sketchy download sites) so it is plenty powerful. It is still 10 times more powerful than what I need for those purposes but it does not have a cd/dwd drive and the storage is solid and small by most peoples standards that have 1000 movies and 50000 songs on their computer. It does boot up in about 5 seconds though.

Mine does not get hot under normal usage. Only time I hear the fan is when the room is really hot or outside like if its 35 degrees and I'm working on it outside. I have never heard the fan come on in class. The battery will get me through back to back 3 hour classes no problem even without dimming the screen much.

For school it is perfect for me though I wouldn't have bought a Mac as this was a prize cause I think you can get a decent ultra book for half what this would cost. Ultrabook is just another step beyond netbooks. I like light and small for school and have another bigger laptop for entertainment purposes though.

a laptop that is pretty much useless.

A lot of mis information in this thread..

It depends on what you want.

I own an i5 ultrabook (first generation zenbook). I've owned it for nearly two years.

It does everything. Gives me 5 hours of battery life.

Additionally I can play some games on it:

Starcraft 2
Leagues of Legends.

Of course, I bought this laptop to give presentations and take notes without hauling around a few pounds of weight.

I'm very happy with my Zenbook. The people whom have asked me about it and have chosen it/similar laptops are quite happy with theirs too.

Shop around. The only bad thing I heard was a small defect in some touch screen ultrabooks. Otherwise I highly recommend ultrabooks if you are looking to use them for what they are intended for.

Ultrabooks are the only ones that survived. Netbooks died out. Tablets are even competing against ultrabooks it's just a hefty premium depending on what u get

Ultrabooks are basically a Intel-sanction classification of very specific laptops. They have to meet the given guidelines to even earn using that title. The guidelines are already given above so I won't repeat the information. What you really want to look into is getting a Mac Air if you like Ultrabooks specs. They are much more sophisticated and elegant than the PC counterpart. If you prefer more power, Apple has a Mac Book Pro line that gives you the ability to have one of the highest resolution display available in a laptop. Laptops are an investment, choose wisely.

All this is very helpful, thank you guys!

I have a laptop at home but need something light to carry around school and take notes. Ultrabooks seems like a viable option... except the price. They can be very pricey. I've been looking into future shop and best-buy so far and the prices are high up there.

Originally Posted by escape

All this is very helpful, thank you guys!

I have a laptop at home but need something light to carry around school and take notes. Ultrabooks seems like a viable option... except the price. They can be very pricey. I've been looking into future shop and best-buy so far and the prices are high up there.

An alternative is to get a iPad. Its much more affordable, light, and the battery life is insane. You can use the school computer if you need intensive software, else you can do basic word document on the iPad without a problem.

Originally Posted by escape

All this is very helpful, thank you guys!

I have a laptop at home but need something light to carry around school and take notes. Ultrabooks seems like a viable option... except the price. They can be very pricey. I've been looking into future shop and best-buy so far and the prices are high up there.

What price range are you looking at? What's your limit?

an Ultrabook is a trademark by INTEL (hence why a macbook air can be an ultrabook). There are two definitionas of ultrabooks: those specified in 2011 by intel and those recently specified by Intel for new Haswell based compuyters.

Highlights:
-Intel ultraportable processor
-min 6 hours battery with HD video test
-touchscreen
-no thicker than 23mm
-must wake from sleep in less than 3 seconds

http://www.pcworld.com/article/20406...efinition.html

NO MATTER what laptop you get (tablet, notebook, ultrabook) I would highly suggest you pay the extra money for a Haswell CPU (intel 4th gen Core).

I also recommend the Surface Pro by microsoft as It has a digitizer which is perfect for notes. I would wait for the new Haswell version.

Originally Posted by AvacadoLover

An alternative is to get a iPad. Its much more affordable, light, and the battery life is insane. You can use the school computer if you need intensive software, else you can do basic word document on the iPad without a problem.

An ultrabook is a computer. An iPad (and to a lesser extent Android tablet) is a TOY or glorified textbook reader. Pay the extra money and get a solid PC or macbook