Monday, May 20, 2013

The Low Down On Light Laptops - Ultrabooks

Last Week I tried to show you  Why You Should Switch From Desktop to a Laptop. This week we are going to delve into different categories of laptops, starting with the low down on light laptops...Popularly known as thin and light,  light laptops have become quite popular with laptop enthusiasts. Why? because they provide the best of both world. They are powerful enough to perform any task you throw their way and yet light enough to carry on the road..Their thin build makes for easy portability..

 But what really are  light laptops?
Light laptops are made up of two categories-utrabooks and ultraportables and are 11.6 to 13.3 inches in size. For today we'll start with ultrabooks and next time we'll finish up with ultraportables.

Utrabooks  have five characteristics:

Slim Display
Ultrabooks measure about 18mm thick and have a display size of between 11.6 and 13.3 inches, although some go as high as 14 inches. Also, most ultrabooks weigh between 3 an d 4.5 pounds, athough there is no weight limit..There is no limit on the display either although 15 inch displays have started appearing on the market. With such a thin size it makes for easier portability, regardless of where you are going.

Quick Restart From Sleep
Ultrabooks are able to assume a quick restart from sleep in seven seconds. When you are ready to work, they get their ignition started. Ultrabooks are able to achieve this quick restart through a combination of flash memory and a tradition hard drive...Some high end ultrabooks use  Solid State Drives(or SSD). Although SSD's are expensive than their traditional brethren, the are faster. Some ultrabooks, such as Asus Zenbook Prime can wake up in as low as 2 seconds.

Intel Core Processor
Ultrabooks are powered by Intel's third generation core processor called Ivy Bridge. Ivy Bridge offers enhanced graphic performance without sacrificing battery life. This is made possible by their tri-gate transistors which helps secure the CPU(Central Processing Unit). However, there are ultrabooks on the market equipped with second generation processors. And they tend to be cheaper.

USB 3.0/Thunderbolt Ports
Most Ultrabooks are equipped USB 3.0 and/or thunderbolt ports. The USB ports will be definitely be handy for multimedia buffs  as they help ensure a faster transfer of data. The Thunderbolt ports help  download movies quickly. In some cases they can download movies in 30 seconds. The first ultrabook to be equipped with a Thunderbolt  was Acer Aspire S5.

Long Battery Life
Ultrabooks are also well-known for their long battery life.Some ultrabooks such as Dell XPS14  can last for as long as 8 hrs although the average is between 5.6 and 6hours.

Extras
Some ultrabooks such as Dell's XPS line  come equipped with Intel's Smart Technology. Now this technology is quite unique in that it enables you to stay current with your email, news, social networks, e.t.c. It also has cloud computing component as it allow you to do cloud updates  if you're away from your network-e.g writing email on a plane. So that once you re-establish network connectivity all your offline items synchronize automatically.

Other ultrabooks such as Lenovo's Ideapad U310 have gone one better with the Smart Update feature.  This feature enables the notebook to keep email and social network updates in the background while the system falls sleep. So that when you get back to wok, all your updates will be refreshed.


That's a wrap on "The Low Down On Light Laptops - Ultrabooks" Next week we'll touch on ultraportable laptops....

Cheers!

 If you're looking for an ultrabook  try Amazon.com   






Thursday, May 9, 2013

Why You Should Switch From A Desktop To A Laptop

You've been using  your  your trusted Dell desktop for God knows how long.....It has served you quite well over the years. You've done everything on this desktop including  playing solitaire. But now how about switching to a laptop?  You'll get twice the fun when using a laptop with exciting features  and top- notch speed. Most importantly, unlike the desktop, you have the option of staying stationery or moving around with your laptop. Let me list a few more reasons why you should switch from a desktop to a laptop

Stress- Free Portability
One benefit of using a laptop is stress-free portability. You have the option of taking it anywhere be it work, home, beach, you name it.  This allows for continuous workflow wherever you go. You can get that with a desktop. There is nowhere you can carry the system unit and the monitor with you. It will be just too stressful and farcical. Also, the ability to browse on the laptop using WIFI- makes the laptop's portability a very handy asset...You can browse anywhere inside or outside the house. Unfortunately you cant do that with your desktop because of its stationery status. So you're consigned to staying at home or in the office or wherever your desktop is installed,

More Versatility

Unlike a desktop, a laptop provides more versatility. It has more available slots for features such as USB, Firewire, Bluetooth, WIFI, e.t.c. Many laptops have  cameras built for Skye and video conferencing purposes.

No Need For A Wall Socket
With the advent of batteries running for 6 hours there is no need for a wall socket. You can do your work anywhere outside your home or office in peace and quiet without any distractions. And thanks to the battery you can work on the go as well. You can even lie down on the beach with your laptop if you want to.

If you're looking to make the switch from desktop to laptop try Amazon.com  and TigerDirect.com.


That's a wrap for "Why You Should Switch From  A Desktop To A Laptop." Hopefully this post will convince you to switch from a desktop to a laptop. From next time onwards we'll look at different types of laptops..

Cheers!