Asus Ultrabook Pros and Cons; January 2012 Hardware Update

January’s buzz worthy hardware update is the Asus Ultrabook. Aaron “Hardware is my Hobby” Brenkus runs down the specs and the pros and cons of ownership.

The Ultrabook is a thinner, lighter, smaller laptop that packs a lot of juice. Inspired by the MacBook Air, this “laptop light” concept meets the demands of an Enterprise business world being Windows 7 capable.

Built with either a Core i5 Intel chip (base model) or the  Core i7 (the latest, fastest chip from Intel chip), this ¼-inch thick laptop sports a processor traditionally only found in a desktop. “Tons of power in little teeny, tiny space.”

The solid-state drive (SSD), as opposed to a hard drive, along with an LED/LCD paper-thin screen contributes to its portability. Although the SSD is vibration resistance but Aaron warns that something this thin has “ “fragile” written all over it.

How much do they cost? The Ultrabook starts at around $1000 but the can run you more than $2K for the 15-inch screen device. What do you get for your money? Well first off you get a full keyboard (compared to a tablet). Battery life is extended drastically in this device because it doesn’t take as much juice to push the device. New mobile chips released need half the wattage as traditional chips. No spinning storage means you can run an average of 10 to 12 hours on a single battery charge.

Additionally having the SSD en lieu of spinning storage means your device responds and retrieves data faster than a traditional laptop. Word of caution though – SSDs are not proving themselves 100% reliable in the long term.

Who’s developing this technology? All the mainstream tech companies have a version of the Ultrabook in the works. Asus released a week ago but HP and Dell shouldn’t be too far behind with a similar release answering the traveler’s call for an ultra thin, large screen laptop that boasts battery life and portability.