I thought we’d be getting a Toshiba U920T Slider Touchscreen Windows 8 Ultrabook through the post this week but I was wrong. It wasn’t until the video unboxing that I found out it was actually the ‘budget’ Toshiba Satellite U940 (U945 in the USA.) I’ve left the out-take in the overview video below. What we’ve ended up with is more than just a surprise, it’s a surprise pleasure because after only half a day of testing it’s clear that this is a well balanced Ultrabook with a few almost unique and very usable features.
A lot of people have been asking the very sensible question – Why Ultrabook when you can get a 1.5KG notebook that delivers the same battery life and runs at a higher clock rate?
In nearly all comparison cases, the ‘lower clocked’ Ultrabook is based on an Ultra Low Voltage (ULV) 1.3-1.8Ghz Core i3, i5 or i7 CPU and is being compared to a laptop running a standard mobile equivalent of 2.2-2.5Ghz. With Intel Turbo Boost some of the clock rates can go higher but it’s not important for the comparison.
Looking more like an ultra thin Atom-based netbook rather than an Intel Core-based notebook the Samsung Series 9 900X1B combines quality throughout and presents it in a very stylish and portable package that’s capable of some smooth, desktop-like computing experiences. Not everything is perfect but now that prices have dropped since launch, this 1KG wonder will fit the bill for those looking for a very small and light, capable notebook. It’s not strictly an Ultrabook but is build around the same principles.
Coming in at exactly the expected price-point, Asus’ Ultrabooks, that’s the UX21 and UX31, will launch in October at a US-based event.
This news comes from Digitimes who say that the entry level price will be $899 but the prices will be rising to a lofty $1999. At that price expect the Core i7 and 256GB of SSD storage!
$899 is $100 below the target price given by Intel in previous statements.
The bad news about the price is that $899 is only likely to get you a non-Turbo-Boost Core i3 (given that it has been listed as an option.) 11″ devices based on this platform are already available at 50-60% of the price.
Based on this news, it’s unlikely that we’ll see more than just production samples at IFA this week. We’ll do our best to get some hands-on though so stay tuned.
[Chippy is reporting from IFA this week. You can follow near-live and behind the scenes via Twitter here. Watch out for the Twitter-only mini podcast announcements too.]
