Powerful Ultra-books for Professionals

What are the makings of a powerful ultra-book for professionals? This is determined by the requirements of the professionals which swing between muscle power and secured use. Boardroom ultra-books is still to sink-in, but that is not because ultra-books are not good enough but it is mostly because it's a fairly new segment and will need some time to nurture user confidence.

For ultra-books to make inroads for users found in boardrooms or IT rooms, the security feature will play an important role. With features like Intel Anti-Theft Technology, you can protect your ultra-book by disabling it from any location and Intel Identity Protection Technology that helps protect your identity and assets online by adding a trusted link to your system, your accounts, and your favorite online places.

Connectivity options like number and type of ports such as HDMI or VGA ports for connecting to projectors or another bigger displays or Ethernet port in a non-wireless environment are also important for professional ultra-books. Fast SSD based devices, backlit keyboard, display size along with the overall performance are some key boardroom ultra-book components.

Lenovo IdeaPad U300S

Lenovo U300s is an ultra-slim notebook with stylish build. The notebook comes with an attractive metal design. The 13.3 inch screen has a native resolution of 1366x768p, which is lower than some of its close competitors, such as Asus Zenbook and MacBook Air. It has sturdy, well-spaced keys that respond to slightest touches and is assisted by a cool palm rest. Its body is resistant to fingerprints and smudges due to matte finish. The notebook has undersized keys and a few dislocated keys. Talking about the connectivity, the device has HDMI and USB3.0 port, unlike MacBook Air, and has mic, headphone and USB2.0 port.

In the benchmark tests, U300S emerged as a strong performer. Having such high configuration and being a home notebook it shows great performance which reflects in PC Mark score of 8472. Battery life, which is an important aspect in home notebooks, is quite good in it at 3 hrs 30 min. The sound quality is also good for an ultra-book. The presence of USB 3.0 ensures faster data transfer. In the 3D Mark test, it is an average performer with the score of 3510. It also features a One key recovery button, located at the left of the keypad helps backing up your system partition into an image file.

Bottomline: U300S is a stylish ultra-book with long battery life and a powerful performance at an attractive price, a perfect recipe for entrepreneurs and professionals.

Sony Vaio VPSZ227

The new Sony Vaio ultra-book is priced on the higher side, 1.59 lacs, but the stunning performance it gives, it is just worth every penny. It is a lightweight powerhouse when it comes to performance. In the PC mark Vantage benchmark, it scored a whopping 14766 and 4898 in 3D Mark. The battery is also very solid with 4hr 50min according to Battery mark benchmark. For anybody who desires a robust device with the best configuration and performance, this one rises above all.

Looks have been well taken care-off with numerous ports getting full priority, particularly the Ethernet port which is generally not found on laptops. It is extremely lightweight with well laid-out keyboard. Overall, it gives out a rugged feeling. It has 8GB RAM, and i7 processor and has good speakers. It is basically a business laptop for those who like to travel light and require heavy tasks and apps to run. Don't be bogged down by the price, if you want a solid companion. The performance makes it the best laptop around. However, the price makes it the most expensive ultra-book. Display offers full HD at 1920x1080p and is great for watching movies, gaming and designing. It claims to have a fingerprint reader and Intel's security features.

Bottomline: This powerful ultra-book with good connectivity and impressive performance is a must have device, if you don't mind paying 1.5lakhs.

Lenovo ThinkPad X1

Thin and tough, the new Lenovo ThinkPad x1 is a stunning solid ultra-book with a 13 inch Gorilla display. Measuring a mere 16.5mm, it runs on Intel Core i5, processor, 4GB RAM, and 320GB HDD. It weighs 1.67kg and is a perfect combination of power and grace. Its stylish looks and the popularity of Thinkpad among professionals give it an edge over other ultra-books. It is a power-house with a solid performance in benchmark tests -it scored 7218 in PC mark and a decent 3592 in 3D mark. Besides featuring a 720p webcam, it boasts of spill resistant chicklet keyboard identical to Thinkpad notebooks. Its screen can be opened 180degree flat to the other side.

The device has been graced with a memory card slot, 3.5mm headphone jack, USB 2.0 ports, USB 2.0-eSATA combo, USB 3.0 port, HDMI, a Display Port, and a covered SIM card slot for optional 3G connectivity. The last one is an added advantage unseen in any other ultra-book. The battery back-up is below average and in battery mark test it lasted for just 1 hour 10min, which is the only failing in this brilliant ultra-book. It comes with 3 Years warranty and is a little overpriced at 98k.

Bottomline: It is an expensive business class Thinkpad with unique set of features like 3G SIM slot and gorilla display in an ultra-thin and rugged body.

Toshiba Satellite U840W

A sturdy metallic body with Aluminium and rubber coating, the U840w is an ultra-wide ultra-book. It is powered by two Harman kardon speakers featured on both sides of the chicklet keyboard that is easy and great to type. The keys are flat and backlit. Despite so much space, it is not a full keyboard. Touchpad is great and the hand rest spacious and comfy.

The display is the widest you can see. It may appear compressed and will take some time to get used to. But, after a time it won't matter. However, adjusting the aspect ratio will be an issue. We found big bars on both sides while running videos. The sound quality is stunning. Its 14.4-inch display with ultra-widescreen aspect ratio lends an entirely unique user experience. It has HD display, 3 USB 3.0 and one HDMI port.

It is a fast performer and scores well in our performance tests, especially PC Mark, where it scored 8521. Its 3D mark performance is a decent 4932. The battery lasted 2hours 35mins. It runs on 1.7Ghz Intel i5 processor, 6GB RAM, Windows 7 premium 64bit and has 500GB HDD. The display can run two files simultaneously -a video on one and a web page on the other. There is an icon on the top of the page, just click on it for.

Bottomline: This is a powerful ultra-book with a peculiar display. Its configuration and performance is impressive, still 64k is a little too much for it. If you can handle the display and price, it is worth considering.

HP Folio 13

HP Folio 13 boasts of great looks and ergonomics. It feels sturdy with Aluminium brushed top that also gives it a very professional look. It has a great keyboard with full-sized chicklet keys with backlighting that are both fun and comfortable to work on. Weighing around 1.5 Kg and just 18 mm thick, the Folio 13 may not be the best in class but these specs make this computing device great for those on move the especially if you add battery backup of around 4 hours (on maximum load). Start-up time is one of the key selling points of an Ultra-book. In fact, low start up time is a pre-requisite for Ultra-books. Typically notebooks take 2-3 minutes to start up before one can start using them. The Folio 13 took just around 30 seconds to start up and 1-2 seconds to wake-up.

Performance benchmark results of this Ultra-book were impressive when compared to others we reviewed in our March 2012 shootout. The Folio 13 scored 8771 in PC Mark Vantage, which checks the overall machine performance and 3372 in 3D Mark 2006, which checks graphics capability. Overall, this has all the ingredients of an excellent board-room ultra-book in terms of price, performance and ergonomics.

Bottomline: Great specs and performance make this Ultra-book a great choice, especially for professionals who need a powerful and fast ultra-book.

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