ULTRABOOK COMPUTERS
by Ray Carlson
Q: What is an ultrabook?
A: The newest form of lightweight computer. A few years ago, netbooks were
developed as small, lightweight laptops, but Apple introduced tablets which
are smaller and lighter than netbooks while offering reasonable computing
power. Tablets saved space by sacrificing keyboards and relying on
touchscreens. Smaller, though, means having less screen size available and
sacrificing some computer capability as well as keyboards.
This past year, chromebooks came along using a Google-developed operating
system and storing everything on the internet rather than a hard drive. The
need to be always on the internet has limited their popularity. Intel had
not developed processors for tablets and therefore wanted to get back into
the small computer market. They developed a new type of processor and the
idea of the ultrabook as the format to use their processor. That company
offered $300 million dollars to assist hardware and software developers to
create this new alternative.
Ultrabooks generally reflect the same functionality as a regular computer
but with less size and weight [usually less than an inch in width], good
battery life and fast start-up. In addition, they tend to be more attractive
than traditional computers. The negatives in relation to tablets are that
they are bigger, lack a touch screen and are two to three times as
expensive. Expect touchscreens to be added in the coming year particularly
with the introduction of Windows 8, but it is doubtful that cost will come
down to the tablet level.
Published: Courier 1/15/12 - Page 5C