Community/Lifestyle

The 5 Best Lightweight Ultrabooks

By Rebecca Sep. 24th, 2012

HP Envy 14 Spectre

Featherweights that pack a few impressive punches

Ideal for the professional, or person average person (or student) on the go, the ultra lightweight laptop (also known as the ultrabook) offers a lot when it comes to compactness and low weight. Ultra weight laptops also offer rather large screens—between 11 and 13-inches—packing plenty of features and mobility into an ultrathin package.

But how does one choose one ultrabook from another?

I’m here to help make that choice a little easier by recommending the following five lightweight laptops…

1. HP Envy14 Spectre

At a mere 3.9 pounds, the HP Envy14 Spectre won’t disappoint at around $1,400 retail. With its 14-inch screen, this lightweight laptop is ideal for working and reading for long hours at a time. Believe me—your eyes will thank you! It’s also a great machine for viewing and streaming movies and television since you can connect wirelessly to an HDTV or projector using an adapter. This thin sucker is a lot more durable than it appears to, thanks to the Gorilla Glass display and 9-hour battery. The thing I like the best: the comfy palm rests, of course, for those who live on their laptops and risk carpel tunnel.

2. Lenovo X1 Carbon

ThinkPad is renowned for durable, no quit laptops. So when it welcomed the ultrathin, 14-inch X1 Carbon light laptop into the family, I was a little worried that durability would suffer on this 3-pound machine. However, the X1 Carbon is just as premium as any other Lenovo product—with a industry-leading keyboard, revamped glass touch pad, and a durable carbon fiber lid to protect it from even the most rugged trips. Priced at $1,399 (starting at), it’s a tad more affordable compared to others on this top 5 list, which is impressive for a Lenovo product that has such speedy processors and 256GB SSD.

3. Acer Aspire S5

The lightest laptop on this list is the Acer S5 priced at $1000. At 13.3-inches it packs a mere 2.9 pounds with a trim 0.59 inch thickness. Not only does this little sucker boot up quick and speedy like (average 15 seconds) with the touch of the power button; it also boasts a hidden port button with not one but two USB ports (one HDMI port and one Thunderbolt port).

4. Samsung Series 5 ULTRA

At 14-inch and weighing it at a slight 3.9 pounds, the Samsung Series 5 ULTRA has a keyboard built for extreme durability, a 7-hour battery life, and a boot-up speed of 20 seconds… quick and reliable…I like that! It’s also the most inexpensive option at $950.

5. Dell XPS 13

The Dell XPS13 is also priced rather well at just under $1000. It’s pretty compact at 13.3-inches and just a stitch under 3-pounds of power. This screen offers the best as far a brilliant color as well as battery life (it wins with 9-hours).