Best Lightweight Laptop for 2012
When laptops were introduced in the market, they were huge and bulky, and also very expensive. With time, laptops have not only become cheaper, but also become thinner and lightweight. These days, people are always on the move, which necessitates a lightweight laptop.
If one has to trudge the heavy laptops, it gets very cumbersome. With lightweight laptops available in the market, one would always want to consider them, when buying a laptop. Here is a list of top ten lightweight laptops at your perusal.
Top Lightweight Laptops: 2012
Toshiba Portg z830The Portg z830, with its magnesium alloy casing is the thinnest and lightest laptop you can buy. It weighs less than 2.5 pounds and measures only 0.63 inches thick. It comes with a second-generation 1.4GHz Intel Core i3 processor and has 4GB RAM and a 128GB SSD. The 13.3" display has a 1366768 resolution. The keyboard is not only backlit, but also spill-resistant. On the left of the laptop are microphone and headphone jacks as well as an SD card reader. The USB 3.0 port is on the right. Along the back are VGA and HDMI ports, two USB ports, and an Ethernet port. This laptop facilitates Ethernet and Wireless LAN as well as a 3.0 Bluetooth. It also sports an integrated HD web camera with a built-in microphone. Though the Portg z830 fulfills the promise of being thin and light, the fan of this processor is very noisy which is almost annoying. The keyboard and touchpad are not very great either. I don't recommend buying this laptop unless you are crazy about buying the thinnest and lightest laptop. In that case, Samsung Series 9 is a better package overall.
Price Range: $899-1,429*
Samsung Series 9The all new Samsung Series 9 laptop (11-inch model) comes with an Intel Core i5 processor, weighs merely 2.5 pounds and is just about half an inch thick. They are made of duralumin and have extremely smooth and responsive trackpad. The Chiclet keyboard is great too. It has a 4GB RAM and 128GB solid state drive. The screen size of this laptop is 11.6" with LED backlight. People on the move do not have to worry about the connectivity as it comes equipped with both wired and wireless Ethernet LAN of 802.11bg/n 2 x 2 (MIMO) and a Bluetooth with a high speed of V3.0. It also comes with a high-definition audio, 3 watt stereo speakers and a 1.3 megapixel HD webcam. It has a 4 Cell (42Wh) battery, which provides a battery life of up to 7 hours.
Price Range: $688-1,429*
Acer Aspire S5This Acer laptop is just 0.68 inches thick and weighs merely 3 pounds. It also features the Acer Green Instant On technology, which facilitates fast boot and resume and Acer Always Connect for managing multimedia and data. It is expected to be launched with Core i5 and i7 processors although there's a possibility of it being equipped with an i3 processor. The Aspire S5 surprises us with a Thunderbolt port, which is normally found on Apple computers. This allows for speedy data transfer of 20Gbps. Other ports include USB 3.0 and HDMI. They are hidden within a MagicFlip I/O port panel below the Aspire S5's hinge, which pops out when you press a button to the right of the keyboard. Though its stylish, thin and extremely lightweight design makes this laptop highly appealing, the price of this laptop (which is currently not known) will decide how good it actually is. It is expected to hit the shelves in June 2012.
Price: Not Known
LG Super UltrabookLaunched in January 2012, the yet-to-be-released LG Super Ultrabook is similar in its aluminum design and chiclet keyboards but the specifications vary greatly. The Z330 Super Ultrabook weighs just 2.6 pounds while Z430 weighs 3.3 pounds. Both are equipped with LG's Super Speed Boot technology. The Z430 has the advantage of being combined with an HDD/SSD drive, which has a storage capacity of up to 500GB. The display of Z7330 is 13.3 inch which has a 1366 x 768 resolution. It is expected to be equipped with Core i3, i5 or i7 processors, paired with 4GB RAM and choice of 128GB or 256GB solid-state drive (SSD). The Z430 is larger in size with 14-inch display and 0.78-inch thickness. They will be equipped with 128GB SD or a larger 500GB hard drive paired with 16GB of solid-state memory. They will have a Gyro Brush Line in Super Compact Clutch Design.
Price: Yet to be disclosed
Apple Macbook AirThis wafer-thin laptop comes with a flash storage memory, Multi-Touch technology, durable unibody construction and a long-lasting battery. Apple Macbook Air (11-inch model) is equipped with a 1.6GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor and has a memory of 2GB or 4GB depending on the model. It has a high-resolution screen, which is LED backlit. It has the unique feature of having its keyboard backlit too. It sports a FaceTime camera which allows you to make video calls to anyone who has a Mac, iPad 2, iPhone 4S or the latest iPod touch using the FaceTime for Mac app. The MacBook Air features 802.11n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0 technology. The stereo speakers are placed such that they project sound through the keyboard for a better audio experience. The battery life is up to 5 hours on a single charge.
Price: around $999*
Dell XPS 13At just 2.99 pounds, this Dell laptop has a 1.6GHz Intel Core i5 processor and 128GB solid-state drive. The RAM is 4GB along with Windows 7 Home Premium. It is just 0.71 inches thick and the 13-inch screen is protected by Corning's durable Gorilla Glass. Even though you have a choice between 128GB and 256GB hard disk, you get 100GB of free cloud storage through Dell DataSafe for cloud backup. Awesome, isn't it? The Dell XPS 13 is equipped with 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Intel's Wireless Display. The lack of an SD card slot in this laptop can be very disappointing though; and so can be the choice of DisplayPort instead of HDMI for the video output. It also comes with a 1.3MP webcam with dual array digital microphones. The battery life of this laptop is said to be around 7 to 8 hours.
Price: around $999.99*
Acer Aspire S3If you cannot wait for S5's release, Acer Aspire S3 is a great choice too; though, even this one uses an Intel Core i5-2467M processor and 4GB of memory, what is unique about it is its use of a hybrid drive. This drive comprises a mechanical 320GB hard disk with a smaller 20GB SSD, instead of a single large SSD. Its 13.3-inch display has 1366 x 768 resolution. Like Dell XPS 13, this laptop is also equipped with 802.11n Wi-Fi and 4.0 Bluetooth. However, the battery life of only 5 hours is a big disadvantage of this laptop. The audio is another weak point. Though it is enabled with Dolby speakers, the volume levels of this laptop are very low. The low audio quality of this laptop along with a low battery life can make it a little less desirable than the other laptops. But if you do not want to spend a huge amount on a laptop, this is one of the best bets you can go for.
Price Range: $864-1,478*
Asus Zenbook UX31EThis 13.3" laptop has a very beautiful, all-metal design which gives it a sturdy feel. It uses an Intel Core i5-2557M dual-core processor and is equipped with Intel HD 3000 graphics card, 4GB of DDR3 1333 MHz RAM and a 128GB solid state disk. It features USB 2.0 port, a combo mic/headphone jack, and an SDHC card slot, a USB 3.0 port, power jack, a mini-port for a VGA adapter and a micro HDMI Port on the left side. The well-known audio company Bang & Olufsen has designed the sound system for this one. They have an impressive bass and offer high-quality audio. Though the keyboard and touchpad are not very great, the battery life of this laptop goes up to 6 hours.
Price Range: $799-1,199*
Lenovo IdeaPad YogaAnother fascinating laptop announced this year is Lenovo's IdeaPad Yoga. This laptop, which weighs only 3.1 pounds, gets its name because of its feature which enables you to flip the screen all the way around. This feature allows it to become a tablet as well as a stand-up screen. And you don't have to worry about the keyboard buttons getting pressed, as the keyboard automatically shuts off when the screen is folded past 180 degrees. It has been designed such that, it can be used in four different modes or positions called notebook, tablet, tent and stand. Not only does it have a touchscreen of 1600900 resolution, it runs on Windows 8. It is powered by an Intel Core processor which is not yet defined, but there is a possibility that it could have a forthcoming Ivy Bridge next-gen chip inside. It will have 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD. It is expected to have a Dolby Home Theater V4 Audio along with USB, Bluetooth, Wireless and Ethernet LAN connectivity. The ports and buttons include Power, USB, SD card slot and rotation lock button. Even if you don't care about the screen flip aspect, the high-resolution display and lightweight design alone will make you drool over this one. It is just sad that we have to wait for it until the end of the year. Nevertheless, I am sure it will be worth it.
Price: around $1,900*
Samsung Series 5 UltraThis ultrabook is cheaper than the Series 9 laptop and weighs 3.04 pounds (13-inch model) and is just 0.7 inches thick. It runs on an Intel Core i5-2467M processor and has 4GB of RAM with a 16GB solid-state cache drive. It also provides LAN and Bluetooth connectivity. It is packed with more ports than its rivals. It provides an Ethernet port, two USB 3.0 ports, HDMI-out, VGA-out, and a two-in-one headphone/microphone jack on the left side. The right side has a four-in-one card reader and a USB 2.0 port. The display has 300 nits of brightness with a resolution of 1366x768. The multimedia features include a 1.3MP HD web camera and two 3W stereo speakers. The battery life is quite a letdown with only 4 to 5 hours.
Price: around $999*
*Prices are subject to change.
With such compact sizes and high performance capabilities, these are undoubtedly some of the best innovations of 2012. However, rather than choosing one according to its thickness or weight, I'd rather suggest you buy one that suits your needs the best. So, decide the features you consider a must in your laptop, before you buy one for yourself.
