With mobile technology everyone wants to have something that is lightweight, which seems to have become more essential in recent years. The need was originally met when netbooks first began to enter the marketplace, followed by tablets; and at present a new drift has developed with a new quality of portable technology tagged the ultrabook, which at first glance seems to be well suited for the traveling professional.

Given the blurry line developing between size compared to power, the difference in power and features between an ultrabook vs netbook , has remarkably increased; in fact, many are now considering that netbooks may have in fact become superceded. What follows is a simple comparison of the reasons you would purchase one over the other, and their various pros and cons.

Ultimately it is up to the technology buyer to choose what is going to be most advisable for them, determined by their position.

So Why Will You Want An Ultrabook?

If you've been tossing and turning over whether or not to buy a netbook over an ultrabook you may have preferred the latter because of the extra productivity the current crop of top quality ultrabooks offer. Standard netbooks do look to be lagging behind all the but the lowliest of ultrabooks, therefore occasionally it might seem as if there is a clear victor.

A high end ultrabook should include a powerful Intel core processor such as an I5 or I7, with 2 or even 4GBs of Memory, with a fast SSD tossed in for good measure. Netbooks are clearly more low end, with possibly an Atom or maybe AMD fusion chipset in addition to a meagre 512MB of memory; 1GB if you are lucky, and a bog standard hard drive.

You can also get excellent portability from an ultrabook, as due to the use of SSD's they come out less heavy and thinner. With this you could also enjoy a more substantial screen which can handle higher resolutions, together with more desirable image quality than your average netbook.

After All That, Why Would You Prefer A Netbook?

Ultrabooks are currently contesting the mini laptops for market share, but the outcome has yet to be concluded, with netbooks still having a few perks to make them a powerful purchase.

In relation to the netbook vs laptop , a good netbook, or netbook tablet, continues to be by the far the least expensive of portable technology, to the order of 700 to 800 dollars under a regular ultrabook. This is a whole lot of outlay for most people, which makes it clear as to why mini laptops are going to be accessible for many years to come.

Even with not having the quick reaction of even a reasonably powered ultrabook, a great netbook can keep you working all day long on battery power alone, and stands toe to toe with most of the newer, higher priced ultrabook models provided with Intel CPUs, in terms of resilience.

Released by Intel in early 2011, Ultrabook represents a new departure in laptop technology. Intels intention is to make the most of the features that make tablet computers so attractive to consumers, and combine them with the capabilities of a notebook. The hope is that this product category will establish itself as a direct competitor for the Apple MacBook, and will capture at least a 40 percent share of the laptop market by late 2012.

As conceived by Intel, the distinguishing feature of Ultrabook is its elegant, thin and light design. This slim and elegant appearance is added to tablet-type characteristics, such as portability and convenience, and combined with performance features that make up Intels most powerful laptop yet. These features include second generation Core processors providing much faster start up times, superior graphics chip performance, and the Windows 7 operating system.

At least four major manufacturers  Toshiba, Asus, Acer and Lenovo  have announced their intention to produce slimline laptops under the Ultrabook trademark, and two of these have already been launched. Asus aimed to be the first to market with its UX21, but found itself in a race with the Acer Aspire S3. Both of these have received favorable reviews, particularly the Acer.

Among the features of the Aspire that particularly impressed reviewers were the fast response times, including reboot and wake up. It takes little more than a second for the Windows login to appear after closing the display. The battery life is given by one reviewer as five hours after sustained WiFi work, which was felt to be good but not spectacular, although other reviewers put it at seven hours. The processor options on the higher end models range from Core i3 to Core i7, while the lower end models will feature a 500GB or a 300GB drive.

The Lenovo IdeaPad U300s, shortly to be released, like the Aspire will be less than half an inch thick. It is aiming for a battery life of eight hours, and will have a boot time from cold of around 10 seconds, thanks to its RapidDrive SSD technology. At its top end it can be configured with 4GB of memory and a Core i7 processor. The Toshiba Portege Z830, also due to hit the market shortly, claims to be the lightest of the Ultrabooks at less than 2.5 pounds, although its dimensions are similar to the others. Distinctive features include an array of ports  two USB 2.0, one USB 3.0, Ethernet and VGA  and a spill resistant keyboard.

Ultrabooks are constructed mainly from aluminum and this is one contributing factor  to their high price tag of close to $1,000. Acer and Asus have plans to bring cheaper models to market by replacing the aluminum designs with alternative materials such as fiberglass. Meanwhile Ben s Bargains has deals on the various models that make them more affordable.

Up till now, the market for slim, portable laptops has been monopolized by Apple, but Ultrabook aims to change all that. Each of the brands released so far has its own distinctive features, which will appeal to different sections of the market. It remains to be seen which of them if any will provide really serious competition.