Never mind all the hype about tablet computers – the one thing seems set to be the talking point of computing in 2012 is the rise of the ultrabook, from a relatively niche market into the ‘must have’ device going in to next year. So, we thought we’d spend a little time looking at just why it is that ultrabooks becoming the ultimate must have computer will be so.

Thin, light and beautiful.

Why are Apple products so appealing to their customer base – simple because they’re beautiful objects of desire, being sleekly thin and light. Needless to say that point hasn’t been lost on the old PC manufacturers and, for a few months now, there have been one or two ultra thin and light laptops on sale. However, the recent CES in Las Vegas has revealed that the PC manufacturers are now geared up to go ‘head-to-head’ with Apple on the design front having come up with a selection of their own thin, light and beautiful laptops which they are calling ultrabooks, on account of them falling in between netbooks and laptops on screen size, whilst offering the performance of a full laptop. We’ll look in more detail at one or two makes of ultrabooks in the coming weeks, but the bare-bones for an ultrabook is being less than 0.8 inch thick, weighing barely 3 pounds, 5 or more hours of battery life and having a screen between 11 and 13 inches.

Made for Windows 8.

Windows 8 and Ultrabooks

Bearing in mind Windows 8 will soon now be upon us it’s only right that ultrabooks will seek to maximize their ability to use all the features available in it. Consequently most ultrabooks will at least have a touch-screen capability, with many of them also being convertible, by folding or twisting the screen, into a tablet. Purists might huff and puff at that idea, or even of ultrabooks incorporating a touch-screen, but the truth is that at least having a touch-screen facility is the way forward for all sorts of organizational and display work on computers. Also, expect ultrabooks to make full use of the progress that’s been made in voice recognition by Windows. Which unlike ‘Siri’ and all the hype surrounding it – does actually work in Windows 8.

Ultrabooks Becoming The Ultimate is a post from: Netbook Laptop Reviews

With much of the computing world trying to pre-guess what’s going to be on show or released at CES 2012 – apart from a big push for ultra-thin laptops and notebooks using the new Intel Cedar Trail processors; it’s little wonder that Apple has been keen to make sure it doesn’t get pushed out of the limelight and so has pumped up the rumors surrounding the upcoming release of iPad 3.

What’s new in iPad 3?

iPad 3 expectations.

In truth the answer to that is very little and you have to wonder, mmm, why Apple think this iPad release is needed – but then just read the next section if you can’t guess. The move to a 7.85 inch screen seems to have been abandoned in favor of sticking with the 9.7inch screen so as to provide a 1536×2048 QXGA resolution, with dual-LED light bars for panel brightness -whoopee. However, in fairness, the introduction of the quad-core A6 processor will be a boost to the machines performance. Also, that processor news can only fuel the speculation that a MS Office app for iPad 3 will be released alongside the new hardware.

Early release date.

There surely has to come a point where the long held view in the computing industry is also seen by the buying public. Namely that Apple think that by releasing a new and shiny, but only slightly improved, version of something that works perfectly well – they can keep the dollars rolling in as anything new from Apple is a “must have” item. The reality is, of course, that by constantly modifying the iPad, and iPhone etc, and then quickly discontinuing the previous versions – they can keep charging the highest possible price. So, although the release date for iPad 3 was intended to be what would have been Steve Jobs birthday, February 24^th, perhaps their coffers are running low – as that now seems to have been brought forward to January 26^th. Which brings with it the suspicion that Apple are finally becoming rattled by the growing number of Windows and Android tablets on offer that are capable of competing for market share with Apple – so what better to do than release the iPad 3 two weeks after CES finishes!

iPad 3 News is a post from: Netbook Laptop Reviews

A big welcome to 2012 and let’s hope it’s a good one. Of course the big question here is whether or not it’ll be a good one for netbooks, which really means will tablets completely overtake netbooks as the portable computing device of choice – or can netbooks hold or even improve on their market share?

Netbooks in 2012.

In all honesty 2012 can’t do any worse that 2011 was for netbooks, with manufacturers like Dell pulling out of the netbook market. One problem was that they were caught flat-footed by the launch of the iPad, 2 years ago, and spent most of 2011 trying to produce their own tablets – resulting in netbook innovations being put on the back burner, with the notable exception of the Google Chromebooks. However, towards the end of the year they finally realized that they can’t produce a tablet capable of delivering iPad functionality and quality for the price of a netbook – and that price bracket needs to be catered for. So, we think there will be a resurgence of interest in netbooks as the economic squeeze continues, as folk needing a low cost computing facility/internet connection will see the netbook as formidable value for money. However, and being aware that the price of memory is rising at the moment, one thing we would like to see netbook manufacturers do is to offer 2GB of RAM as a manufacturers/factory upgrade.

Netbooks and “the cloud” in 2012.

Cloud computing – the saviour of netbooks?

One thing to definitely watch out for in 2012 is the growth of “Cloud computing” with netbooks. One reason for this is that educational establishments, from Junior High to University research institutes, all use MLEs (Managed Learning Environments) meaning that very few students are growing up with the concept of storing their work on their own devices. ie. There is a whole generation growing up completely at ease with storing and accessing not just content and data online – but their own work too. Now when it comes to viewing content/data online a tablet is fine – but if you want something that’s light, small, portable and has a key board then you really do need a netbook to do your work on. Don’t forget too that the only option here isn’t using Chrome from Google, as Apple and MS both have their own “Clouds” – along with a host of other platform independent ones.

Here Comes 2012 is a post from: Netbook Laptop Reviews

The New Year sales are an ideal time to pick up a great bargain in a new netbook. Retailers will be keen to move any stock they’ve got left over from the Christmas rush and create space for new models coming in later in the year, so don’t be afraid to ask for a further discount on top of the sales offer price. Of course it’s not just price that will determine which netbook you decide to buy – so what tips do you need to think about for picking the right netbook?

Picking a manufacturer.

The main reason why there is such a bewildering number of netbook models out there is that all of the manufacturers want to create their own netbook which they think offers a unique deal either in price or specification. Truth is, when it comes to picking a netbook manufacturer – don’t be too concerned about minor variations is the internal specifications of the netbooks – but do be concerned about the build quality. The build quality will determine how sturdily the components are fitted into the casing and, as importantly, how good the casing is. Sure, you might be able to buy a great specification netbook from a company called something like ‘buildmyasiannetbook.net”, for just $200 – but it will not have the build quality of the main manufacturerslike Dell, Samsung or Asus, let alone Sony, Acer or Toshiba.

What to look for when picking the right netbook.

Processors and memory.

When it comes to specifications you certainly don’t want o get hung up on processor speeds. You’re buying a netbook and so will not be playing DVDs on it and trying to edit a video at the same time. The whole point of owning a netbook is that they’re for tasks that don’t require massive processors. So if you can save yourself $50 by buying a netbook with a CPU that’s not the very latest one – we’d say do it! Now RAM memory is a different matter. If you’re offered a memory upgrade for just a few dollars more – take it, as this will improve the performance of your netbook. Regarding hard-disk size, again remember you’re buying a netbook and so a 300+ GB harddisk is almost certainly going to be underused, especially if you go for cloud computing. So, again, if the 100+ GB hard-drive model is cheaper than the bigger one – take the smaller one and save yourself some more money.

Picking The Right Netbook is a post from: Netbook Laptop Reviews

Face facts, as a business person going into meetings these days and carrying a document case makes you look like some sort of business dinosaur - a dying breed. The need to show, indeed the need to impress, on your business contacts how busy you are can be all important in terms of convincing them that you’re the person to do business with. So what technology do you taker into meetings with you – smartphone, netbook … what about a tablet?

Taking technology in to meetings.

OK, so you can track your emails on your smartphone, but taking a smartphone out during a meeting can all to easily be mistaken by the person you’re meeting as you being more concerned about a call form someone else – than talking to them. Netbooks are OK in meetings, but unless its a Chrome netbook they can take an age to load etc. Clearly a tablet is the answer here, but the iPad is already seen,and indeed marketed, as being a leisure product – not a business one. So, little wonder that the ‘old’ PC manufacturers saw an opportunity here and have been looking to develop a business user tablet. So, Hey Presto – here’s the HP TouchPad, which is rapidly gaining a great reputation and market share as a business users tablet.

The HP TouchPad.

HP Touchpad for business users.

Business User Tablet is a post from: Netbook Laptop Reviews

Fed up with desktop and laptop computer owners kicking the proverbial sand in the screen of your netbook – well check out the following beefcake netbook with plenty of muscle. The problem with netbooks being seen as the poor relation by computer users is the false belief that you have to have the biggest possible screen to see things on and hardware on-board sufficient to run a modestly sized power station, never mind just a bit of word processing or social networking– which is what most computers are used for.

Need a netbook with muscle - check this out!

Dell Latitude 2120.

Take the “L” out of latitude and what you’ve got here is a Dell netbook with attitude and muscle to spare. It still has an Intel Atom processor, albeit the N550 on the top-end model and just 1GB of RAM, but with a 250GB hard drive and Windows 7 this isn’t your ordinary run-of-the-mill netbook, but something with the speed to keep up with any laptop still not sporting the latest i7 processors. If you’re concerned about watching HD videos or playing HD games on it – don’t, although it still has the conventional 10.1inch screen, it’s set at 1366×768 pixels resolution – yielding images perfectly clearly for anyone even if they need spectacles. Other options available feature Windows 7 Professional, yes this is still a netbook, a 7200rpm 320GB hard drive and a RAM upgrade to 2GB. A beefcake netbook is ever there was one.

The boring stuff.

I suppose we’d better got through the boring stuff. I guess it is a little on the heavy side for these days weighing in at 1.8 kg for the very top model, but if you want that extra muscle – it comes at a price somewhere. Battery life is OK at 6 hours and the textured surface gives it a good and positive feel when handling it. The keyboard too has a good positive feel too, nice ‘clicky’ keys, not those horrible rubber pads and the scroll pad reacts well to touch, without being over-sensitive. Price, well if you want the best you have to be prepared to pay for it and current USA prices are around the $800 mark.

Beefcake Netbooks is a post from: Netbook Laptop Reviews

Apart from doing work on our netbooks in Office software and using our favorite social networking sites – we all like to view videos and play games on them too. Something that is becoming more of a problem these days is the amount of video content, especially of video our favorite TV series, and games that is put out and best viewed and played in HD. Traditionally netbooks haven’t been manufactured with screens capable of coping with HD – so where are the HD netbooks?

Netbook screens.

One reason that netbooks cost less than other laptop computers is, quite simply and obviously, that their screens are smaller. This is fine for most tasks and for viewing most things, but if you particularly want to watch an HD video or play an HD game – chances are you won’t be able to. The reason for this is that the usual 10inch netbook screen is optimized to operate at a resolution of 1024×600 pixels – but HD requires a width of at least 720 pixels! Indeed, ideally to play games or view HD content you really want a screen displaying 1280×720 pixels at least. Depending on the graphics hardware on your netbook it might be possible to alter the screen resolution to one the HD format can use – but whilst you might see a full HD image, will you actually be able to define anything in it?

Examples of HD screen netbooks.

HD content for under $300.

Needless to say manufacturers haven’t been slow to catch on to a gap in the market – and you can now buy netbooks equipped with screens capable of delivering true HD content. So, with Christmas fast approaching – why not see if Santa can arrange for you to have a new HD netbook for Christmas. At the low end of the price range is the Acer Aspire One 522, capable of delivering the requisite 1280×720 pixels resolution for under $300! Also, there’s the Samsung NF310 which can deliver a whopping 1366×768 pixels on its 10 inch screen – expect to find this on sale for below $400. If you’re prepared to spend up to around $500 – you can get a Dell Mini 10 with an optional upgrade on the hardware capable of delivering an excellent HD content viewing experience for such a small machine.

HD Netbooks is a post from: Netbook Laptop Reviews

There are those parts of the IT media that love to try and create the news with outlandish claims that the netbook is dead now that tablet computers are here. Well if that were so – just why have Intel developed their Cedar Trail SOC (system-on-chip) Atom processors to work on hybrid devices on the laptop-tablet divide. Although still some way from release the way forward on the Atom roadmap is clearly producing a processor capable of servicing these hybrids – but why the big push for a hybrid processor now?

Cedar to outstrip pine.

Cedar trail system-on-chip processors

As would be a logical progression, the Cedar Trail is set to replace the Pine trail, the roadmap name for the now increasingly sluggish looking N4 and N5 series of processors from Intel. The Cedar Trail processors should be ready for release in the final quarter of this year, so any time now, but it’s still a bit of a mystery as to what machines they’ll be used in. When Intel use the term hybrids – just what exactly are they referring to? Well, with PC manufacturers increasingly turning towards laptops and netbooks that have a touch-screen that can be twisted to sit on top of the keyboard, like the Lenovo Ideapad or the Acer Timeline – Intel are bound to exploit the market for something new. Oh yes, we forget to mention too – Apple are about to launch their own laptop-hybrid, which is bound to mean PC makers will feel obliged to follow and introduce new hybrids themselves, all of which means a healthy market for Intel to exploit.

Netbooks and the future.

Future plans for netbooks from Intel don’t look too good. Intel also have another project on the boil “Oak Trail” specifically to produce processors for tablets in 2012, with further developments for tablets and hybrids in 2013. However, that’s not to say netbooks will be stuck with an ever aging processor by Intel doing no further development on the N5 series. Apart from AMDs low-power Accelerated Processing Units, Intel are bound to tweak the Cedar Trail processors at some point to optimize them in netbooks. After all if the next generation of hybrids are to have sliding keyboards, they’re just a design variation on the netbook.

On The Cedar Trail is a post from: Netbook Laptop Reviews

Two weeks after the launch of the Kindle Fire is it time to ask – is the iPad fired? Up until now it’s been a bit of a phoney war as to who could take on, let alone dislodge, Apple from the number one spot in the tablet market. Despite some good tablets being produced by the ‘old’ PC manufacturers none of them seem to have managed to match the glamor of or allure in owning the Apple product. However, it does now appear that there is a worthy challenger to the iPad – the Kindle Fire.

Kindle Fire.

Will Kindle Fire the iPad?

The Kindle Fire is, of course, the logical progression from Amazon for their popular range of eReaders. But, whereas the previous incarnations of this product did just the one thing – fetch and display books, the Fire is a different beast entirely. First up it has a color screen, or rather a color touch screen capable of playing videos too – thanks to the inclusion of a ‘proper’ operating system and processor. The OS is a version of Google’s Android and the processor is a dual-core one. That means wifi networking too, so no need to connect to a PC to access the internet. Ah Ha, access to the internet – that means it needs a web browser too – and Amazon have gone down the custom design route for that introducing their own ‘Silk’ browser. Needless to say there’s audio too, so you’ve got text, audio, video and browsing for anything you want all in one tablet – just like the iPad.

Amazon all fired up for tablet wars.

Two things actually make the Kindle Fire a real threat to Apple. For one thing Amazon, just like Apple, has plenty of brand loyalty for its products. Having been the single market leader in eReaders – people know that they’re buying a quality product from Amazon. However, the second point could well be the clincher – price. You can but the basic Kindle Fire for just $199 – and it does everything Apple claim for the iPad! So, who’ll put out the Kindle Fire?

Is The iPad Fired is a post from: Netbook Laptop Reviews

OK, so we’ve been here before with the sub $200 netbook – where poor build quality and a lack of processing power, storage and memory made them netbooks you wouldn’t ask a kindergarten kid to use. Well all that could be about to change with the introduction of the Asus Eec PC X101. Sounds like something out of science fiction, priced like something out of science fiction – but this Asus netbooks performance and capability is no fiction – science or otherwise.

Asus Eec PC X101 – under $200 but worth far more.

Nice looking - that new Asus netbook, of course.

First of all let’s go through the techie bits to do with what’s the hardware on-board. Processor first and its no ‘out of the way’ processor no one’s heard of before but a fully fledged Intel Atom N455 with the standard netbook 1GB of RAM memory, upgradeable to 2GB for those interested. The screen’s also the standard netbook 10.1 inch screen, LED back-light at 1024×600 pixels. Internal speakers, audio jack, 0.3 Mpixel webcam, x2 USB ports, a card reader, built-in wifi, Bluetooth available and a battery life of 4 hours – what more could you want? Oh, what was that – storage – ah! OK, don’t turn off now, wait and hear this out to the end … on-board storage is a SATA solid-state 8GB drive. Drat, was that another question – what’s the OS – the Linux based MeeGo.

It’s still a contender, so think Cloud!

OK, so I guess until we got to the storage and OS all was sounding fine, then you begin to wonder. But the whole point about the Asus Eec PC X101 is that is isn’t intended for power computing – but is designed and manufactured as a netbook for the Cloud. Which is why the Asus Eec PC X101 comes with social networking built-in and a generous 2GB of DropBox online storage to give you a rich and fun cloud computing experience. Fun – because it’s so easy to use, weighs less than a kilo, is less than 18mm thick and is available in different colors. Now then, with Google Chromebooks coming in at $350 at best – surely this little Asus netbook for cloud computing has to be worth a try.

Sub $200 Netbook is a post from: Netbook Laptop Reviews