We were told that 30-50 ultrabooks would appear at CES last week and while there was indeed a lot of buzz and news, there really are only two truly new models to consider today. Everything else was either already reported, a future, demonstrator or prototype Ultrabook. Some will make it to the shelves, most won’t. In total we added 9 devices to the database (along with a ton of links, images and videos) and there are a few more that may appear later in the year but let’s go over the important devices to be considered over the next month and mention a few brands that still aren’t in the game. After you’ve read the article, let us know what your Ultrabook shortlist looks like.
You can view all the current Ultrabooks and many Ultrabook alternatives in our comprehensive Ultrabook product database.
With such a short amount of time it’s really impossible to say anything definitive about the new Samsung Series 5 Ultrabooks but I’ve had a chance to have some uninterrupted time with the two devices at the Samsung Media Lounge here at CES and the devices do seem well-rounded. I’m especially impressed with the keyboard, ports and Wi-Di . If you’re thinking about the Acer S3, I would advise to wait for the NP530.
More images and two overview videos below.
As you can see on the underside, there’s HDD and Memory access making it easier to upgrade to an SSD if required.
At a Toshiba Press event this evening we got a glimpse of the 14” laptop that will be the next Toshiba (USA) Satellite Ultrabook (not high-end Portege brand as the Z835 is in the USA.) At ‘under 4lb’ it’s not the ultra-light that the Z830/Z835 is but you’re looking at a device that will be cheaper than the Z830 and will be targeted at a more mainstream customer. We even caught a brief glimpse of Windows 8 running on it.
We’re on our way to CES in Las Vegas! I’m traveling out today and will arrive 20+ hours later, today, with events starting tomorrow. It’s going to be a fantastic week of Ultrabooks and alternatives and hopefuly the NP350 and Galaxy Tab, Nokia N8, Clear MiFi and Lumix FZ150 will help me keep you all up to date. (More detail on the kit i’m using is available here.)
Obviously i’ll be posting here but i’m also covering netbooks and tablets for UMPCPortal and Carrypad – at least as much as I can do!
The LG Xnote Z330 has already been announced in South Korea with confirmation that it’s coming to Europe but it looks like we’ll get our first chance at hands-on at CES next week. LG will be showing the Z330 along with a 14” version, the Z430.
I’ve had a great, although not exactly easy 2 weeks away from the desk for the Christmas period and I’m relieved to see that there wasn’t much in the way of Ultrabook news that I missed. In fact, the only real news was the availability, competitive pricing and interesting specification information for the Samsung NP530 13” Ultrabook that I discovered just minutes before Christmas Day. The Verge has a tip on a potential 14” HP Spectre Envy Ultrabook too but there’s really no information on that yet.
Thanks to support from Intel I’ll be flying out to the Consumer Electronics Show which starts for us on the 8th Jan. CES is the #1 show in the US for computer-related electronics and is generally a showcase of products and technologies that you’re likely to see in the first half of 2012. Intel and their customers will have a huge Ultrabook-focused presence and we’re extremely pleased to be part of it.
