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Updated: 9 Best Ultrabooks 2015: top thin and light laptops reviewed

Best Ultrabooks

Updated: The world's lightest laptop, the Lenovo LaVie Z has been added to our list of the best Ultrabooks.

The term Ultrabook was coined by Intel, and it specifies laptops with particular specifications, separating them from other ultraportable laptops.

They all have Intel Core i3, Core i5 or Core i7 processors, fast SSD storage to some degree, and now USB 3.0 connectivity, for speedy file transfers.

Ultrabooks are made with design in mind, so they tend to start from around $999 (around £584, AU$1,064) in the lower end, going to nearly $2,000 (around £1,169, AU$2,131) at the very high end.

Ultimately, you're likely to spend between $899 and $1,500 for a newer model, though you can get some older models for good prices. Below are the six best Ultrabooks at the moment, based on our latest reviews.

Best Ultrabooks

1. Dell XPS 13

Possibly the best laptop on the planet, Dell's latest is a masterpiece

Gorgeous display

Super lightweight

No ethernet port

Off-centre webcam

The new Dell XPS 13 is a 13.3-inch notebook, but it has the small footprint of an 11-inch machine. Fortunately for us, the XPS 13 isn't all beauty and no brains. This laptop features the horsepower to make work and play enjoyable, and it has just enough battery life to never leave you in a lurch. Regardless of whether you choose to upgrade to the touchscreen quad HD+ version, or if you stand pat with the full HD model, the Dell XPS 13 will provide you with a delightful experience for years to come.

Read the full review: Dell XPS 13

Best Ultrabooks

2. Asus ZenBook UX305

A truly excellent ultrabook at a very agreeable price point

Very thin and light

Incredible performance

Wonky video driver

Tinny speakers

The ZenBook UX305 is a superbly-built, fully metal machine that's thin, light and very attractive. This lightweight system' also easily handled all my daily tasks whether I was browsing the web, watching video or editing images. What's more, you can get excellent battery life out of the machine considering its 1080p display. Of course, the most striking thing about the UX305 is that it comes at a $699 or £649 (about AU$902) price. This is a great price for any mobile computing machine, but in this case you're getting a premium, full-metal Ultrabook with an excellent full HD display and a 256GB SSD to boot. While isnt' exactly a shining symbol of innovation in the Ultrabook space, it is the most affordable Ultrabook out today and it won't disappoint you.

Read the full review: Asus ZenBook UX305

Best Ultrabooks

3. Asus ZenBook Pro UX501

An attractive alternative to a certain fruit-flavoured laptop

Bright, vibrant screen

Excellent performance

Feels heavy

Mediocre battery life

If you're looking for a laptop with a little more meat on its bones but don't want to break the bank, the Asus ZenBook Pro UX501 is a stylish contender. It features a bright, vibrant 4K display and packs a capacious, highly responsive storage drive that flies.

There's extra beef under the hood in the form of an Intel Core-i7 chip inside and discrete Nvidia GeForce GTX 960M graphics for gaming and graphics work. That high-resolution display is something of a battery drain, and it's not the lightest laptop around, but if you're not planning on lugging it around too much then the UX501's meaty innards and affordability make it an attractive option for content creators and media buffs alike.

Read the full review: Asus ZenBook Pro UX501

best ultrabook

4. Lenovo LaVie Z

The lightest Ultrabook in the world

Core i7 processor

Excellent WQHD screen

Mediocre battery life

Astronomical price tag

By creating the 1.87-pound LaVie Z, Lenovo has created the lightest laptop in the world. Aside from its lightweight chassis, the Lavie Z offers performance and display are among the best available today. However, the laptop's somewhat questionable build quality, inferior battery life, and inflated price tag are qualities that will turn many off from what is an otherwise splendid device.

Read the full review: Lenovo LaVie Z

best ultrabook

5. HP EliteBook Folio 1020 G1

A thin, attractive business laptop posing as an Ultrabook

Sleek design and tough construction

Fingerprint scanner, enterprise security

Underpowered Intel Core M performance

No full-sized SD card reader

Although it has the look and body of an Ultrabook, the HP EliteBook Folio 1020 G1 is very much a business laptop in disguise. Underneath its MacBook Air like exterior, this machine packs plenty of enterprise perks including fingerprint scanner, enterprise security and the durable build quality to meet a Military Specifications certification.

At the same time though, the HP Folio 1020 G1 has a gorgeous design that's atypical of business-class notebooks. Cloaked in a unibody aluminum shell, the fanless Folio is one of the lighter, more attractive business portables in the world. Add in a gorgeous QHD screen, comfortably ergonomic keyboard, and this premium business machine is well worth its slightly premium price tag.

Read the full review: HP EliteBook Folio 1020 G1

best ultrabook

6. Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro

A triumph for design, Lenovo's flagship is impressive if a little pricey

Slim and light

Attractive hinge

Quite pricey

Poor battery life

If you're all about style and don't need a super powerful machine, it doesn't get much better than Lenovo's latest flagship Ultrabook. While it may not be as punchy as its predecessor (thanks in part to its low-power, fanless Intel Core M chip), it can still manage all of the usual tasks you would throw at it.

And given its new metallic hinge and super thin design, the Yoga 3 Pro makes a better case than ever for its multitudes of usage modes. At any rate, this is one of the thinnest, lightest and sharpest Windows laptops to date. And while you'll certainly pay for it, the price for such panache will be worth it for style nuts.

Read the full review: Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro

Best Ultrabooks

7. Samsung Ativ Book 9 Plus

With stunning performance and screen, it doesn't get much better than this

Incredible touchscreen

Excellent battery

It's expensive

Full of bloatware

Samsung was one of the very first PC manufacturers to jump on the Ultrabook bandwagon. It's done a fine job of representing Intel's baby ever since, with some stunning offerings, including the Samsung Series 5 Ultra Touch and, more recently, the top-of-the-line Samsung Series 9 NP900X3D.

Samsung's new Ultrabook: the Samsung Ativ Book 9 Plus (starting at $1,399, £1,412, AU$2,259), might keep the company ahead of the game for a while, at least if its on-paper abilities are anything to go by.

It's a wonderful-looking unit. It's thin and carefully crafted, with shiny, chamfered edges lining its all-aluminium chassis. But its plain black exterior might lend some clues as to its intent: This is premium-priced Ultrabook focused as much on the business user as the coffee shop regular.

Read the full review: Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus

Best Ultrabooks

8. Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon

An excellent business laptop that (almost) has it all

Clever adaptive keyboard

Fantastic design

Generally dim screen

Average battery life

The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (starting at $1,186, £1,198, AU$1,699) is a business laptop that straddles the line between form and function more than ever after this update. For those with a penchant for aesthetics, here's a brand new design with some fantastic new features. And to keep the no-nonsense business user happy, this is a plenty powerful piece of hardware.

The connectivity on offer through this Ultrabook's super slim design profile alone is impressive. And the adaptive keys, while divisive, add a ton of function in a limited amount of space and an attractive presentation. Look out, MacBook Pro, you're no longer the only thin and light business option on the block.

Read the full review: Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon

Best Ultrabooks

9. Acer Aspire S7

Acer's luxurious laptop is an ultraportable star

Stunning build quality

Excellent sharp screen

No 802.11ac wifi

Battery life is just 'ok'

For 2014, Acer has updated it's luxury laptop with a super sharp QHD display. This 2560 x 1440 panel is prepared for the day when hyper-HD content is finally viable to watch over wireless internet. In the now, text looks gorgeous, as do images – thus adding to the near-future feel of this device.

The build quality on display here, from the Aspire S7's aluminum and Gorilla Glass frame is palpable. That goes for the snappy keyboard, with its fancy electroluminescent lighting, too.

The Acer Aspire S7 (starting at $1,349, £1,199, AU$2,599) truly feels like a machine built for the now, 2014, and one that you won't mind using well into 2016, possibly longer. So, love the Aspire S7 for its cutting edge build, fine typing experience and premium specs.

Read the full review: Acer Aspire S7

July 01, 2015 at 04:30AM
Joe Osborne and Kevin Lee

Office 365 integration turns Cortana into your work assistant

Cortana takes a bigger presence in the latest Insider Preview Build 10158 of Windows 10, especially for Office 365 users. Microsoft announced that the Halo-inspired digital voice assistant can deliver alerts for flight information, commuter traffic and package deliveries on the desktop, and Office 365 users can now get a glimpse of their schedule with deeper Cortana integration.

"By integrating with Office 365, Cortana can proactively help you prepare for an upcoming meeting," Microsoft said in a statement. "Cortana brings you helpful information about the people you're meeting with, recent documents they've worked on, and reminders about when and where you need to be next so you won't be late."

Your office assistant

Screenshots posted by Microsoft show that Cortana can complement your schedule with glanceable information, like the weather forecast. On Windows 10 Mobile, the screenshot also shows actionable buttons for an appointment entry so you can notify meeting participants if you're running late, or open Skype if it's a virtual meeting. Mobile integration will occur later this year, but desktop and tablet integration is available now.

Cortana

In another example, Microsoft shows flight information with a flight tracker to notify if your plane is on time. In the same view, Cortana also delivers traffic information to help you get to the airport on time for your flight.

Microsoft isn't the first to roll out proactive or predictive notifications. Rival Google offers similar alerts on its Google Now platform, but Google doesn't have deep integration with Google Apps.

How it works and how to get it

"Through Office 365, Cortana can pull together insights to help you be more connected – like how you and your colleagues are connected to each other, documents you share and your upcoming meetings with them," Microsoft said. "Cortana will even deliver reminders when that important person contacts you."

Microsoft did not specify where it is gathering the insights to make Cortana more useful for work, but Microsoft demoed various work-related features using data from the Power BI platform at the Ignite conference.

"This lets you ask questions like 'which projects are due to be finished by July?' or 'which countries are my best customers in?' or 'how many PCs do my customers have by industry?' – which sound like the questions you can already ask Cortana, just with a knowledge base about your business rather than more general web searches," we reported in May.

To get Cortana integration, you must be part of the Windows Insider program running the latest preview build, have an Office 365 account from work and be part of an organization that supports Cortana through the First Release program. For organizations that do not want Cortana integration at this time, Microsoft allows IT administrators to opt out of Cortana connectivity in the Office 365 Admin portal.

In addition to delivering your daily schedule, Cortana could be used to send emails with your voice. With dictation, you can tell Cortana the email recipient and compose the message with your voice.

It's unclear if Cortana's integration with Office 365 is the same personal assistant project that Bill Gates confirmed he is working on. Microsoft is also said to be involved with a Work Assistant app.

Windows 10

Windows 10 will be available on July 29 for customers to download. Microsoft offers Windows 10 as a free upgrade during the first year of release for Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 owners. For ineligible customers, Windows 10 Home costs $129 (£99.99, €135) and Windows 10 Pro will retail for $199. Microsoft has not revealed international pricing for Windows 10 Pro.

Cortana will be one of the highlight features of the operating system, allowing users to search the web, find local files on their systems or network and receive notifications and alerts. Other new features included in Windows 10 include the return of the Start menu, new multitasking capabilities, the Microsoft Edge browser and Continuum for users who work with convertible notebooks.

In addition to Windows 10 availability, Microsoft has hinted that Cortana could make the leap to competing iOS and Android operating systems.

Read our review of Windows 10

July 01, 2015 at 03:07AM
Chuong Nguyen

Android 5.1 update reaches Galaxy S6 and S6 edge on Sprint

iOS 8.4 is now out with Apple Music included

Right on time, Apple has now made iOS 8.4 available to everyone for download. If it hasn't happened already, you should be receiving the relevant update notification on your iOS device in the next few hours. iOS 8.4's most notable feature is, as you may know, Apple Music. The company's new music streaming service is included in this release. So today also marks the official debut of Apple Music. You will find the new service inside the redesigned Music app for iOS. Along with this, the latest software release also contains some unnamed improvements to iBooks and bug fixes throughout the OS. Apple Music should be accessible from more than 100 countries across the globe. It offers a three month long free trial, after which you have to pay $9.99 per month. A $14.99 per month family plan is also available, and this works for up to 6 persons. It has a few different components to it. First off, you can stream any song you want from Apple's vast collection. But then there's also Beats 1, a live radio station that will be broadcast 24/7 exclusively on Apple Music, with tracks chosen by real people, not algorithms. The same human touch is employed in the "For You" section which has recommendations of playlists and albums to listen to. And finally, Apple's service lets artists directly connect with their fans if they want...

Kantar: Samsung top US vendor, S6 third best-selling smartphone

Sony Xperia Z4 slips out of top 5 best sellers in Japan

The Sony Xperia Z4, which was unveiled in Japan back in April and went on sale on June 10, has slipped out of the top five best-selling smartphones ) in the country. The NTT docomo and au by KDDI variants of the device, which debuted at the number 1 and 2 spots, have slipped down to number 7 and 8, respectively. The top 5 spots are occupied by Apple's iPhones, while the Xperia Z3 Compact is in 6th place. This shouldn't really come as a surprise, given that almost immediately after the Z4's release, users started complaining about overheating issues. Its international variant, the Xperia Z3+, is also plagued with similar issues. Meanwhile, Sony has promised that it will release an update to fix the problem sometime this...

Microsoft looking to buy AMD. Why not?

Microsoft may be looking to buy AMD, according to a source familiar to the matter and quoted by tech news website, Kitguru. The two have apparently been talking for a few months with the result of the talks still "unclear" at this stage.

It was only last week that another rumour surfaced about AMD looking to spin off its GPU business unit, the one formed after the acquisition of ATI.

What's also unclear is why Microsoft would buy AMD, even if the latter is worth only a tiny fraction of what the company has in the bank. The Redmond-based company has been exiting the non-core business (including online advertising and mapping) and going into hardware seems to be risky at this stage.

Follow Apple

Unless Microsoft wants to copy Apple that is. Owning the entire ecosystem is what makes Apple unique on the market and Microsoft, with the acquisition of Nokia and the launch of the Surface brand, might be looking to emulate its archrival.

Games, and more specifically the Xbox, could be the catalyst of such an acquisition. Intel is likely to throw a fit if its long-time partner decides to become a fabless chip designer as well. Microsoft already has an ARM license so it could potentially design its own chips if it wanted to.

Source: Kitguru

June 30, 2015 at 09:38PM
Desire Athow

HTC to start manufacturing mobile handsets in India

Over a month after Samsung announced that it will soon start manufacturing its Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge flagship smartphones in India, HTC is following suit. According to an Economic Times report, the Taiwanese company has entered into an agreement with Global Devices Network, which has its own manufacturing and assembling unit in Noida (near capital New Delhi). It's worth mentioning that the latter already produces handsets for local brand Zen. The report notes that trails have already started at the facility, and commercial-level production will begin by mid-next month. The Taiwanese company will manufacture handsets priced in the range of INR 10,000 ($160) to INR 25,000 ($390). The news comes just days after there were reports that Sony is also considering manufacturing smartphones in...

Listen to Goldeneye N64's music in its original, uncompressed beauty

This new gadget will revolutionise productivity on your laptop

Having multiple displays improves productivity tremendously (as well as your gaming capabilities); that remains mostly the remit of desktop PCs despite the growing popularity of laptops.

Belgium-based startup Sliden'Joy promises to change that with a clever solution that will go live next week. Tech retailer Media Markt (the German equivalent of Currys/PCWorld) has already backed the project.

Dual-display laptops like the GScreen, The Onkyo DX or the Kohjinsha DZ-series, have been plagued by poor performance or too many compromises. Others like the Lenovo ThinkVision USB monitor or the AOC E1659 have proven to be either too slow (since they used USB 2.0) or too big.

Great potential

Sliden'Joy allows users to add either one or two 13-inch, 15-inch or 17-inch displays to their laptops (with other display sizes coming) for as little as 199 Euros (about £145, $225, AU$280). The cheapest dual-monitor setup adds another 100 Euros (about £72, $112, AU$ 141).

All the displays are powered by a single USB 3.0, are platform agnostic (work with PC or Mac), have a 180 degrees rotating aluminium hinge (allowing it to fold neatly) and, most importantly, are full HD.

The team behind the project promises to have several finishes, including leather and wood, based on what we can see on the company's website.

Site: Slidenjoy

June 30, 2015 at 08:23PM
Desire Athow