The Ultraportable Laptop Showdown

What makes a good ultraportable? Before we began our comparison, we had to make sure that all our parameters were pat down and accurately described a machine that would not only be a very good performer but also be able to stand on their own with regard to aesthetics and overall design.

First we ensured we had with us laptops that best represented the segment. As a result, our labs welcomed the ultra-stylish Apple MacBook, Samsung's new X360, Lenovo's Thinkpad X300- the business warhorse, Dell's Latitude E4200 and five more laptops.For the testing process, we decided to include a number of parameters. However, the most important of these was the portability factor itself, which we figured was directly affected by the weight of the laptop and how efficient its battery was. Further, we proceeded to test them on their features and specifications, design and ease of use and overall performance.

Samsung X360: PCW RATING 86/100

Dubbed as a Macbook Air rival, the Samsung X360 is by far the best ultraportable notebook in this comparison. It sets itself apart from the rest of the pack in various aspects. Despite having a 13.3-inch LED screen (1280x800 resolution), it weighs only 1.3 kg. It has the best screen quality, with a bright display, showcasing crisp images and sharp text. The screen also has exceptional viewing angles. Practicality apart, it isn't hard to ignore the X360's slim stylish design. It has a two-toned brushed metallic red and glossy black lid, and with exception to the base, the whole thing is washed over with black gloss. Quite attractive.

With respect to the Latitude E4200, the X360's slightly larger form-factor enables it to pack in a bigger screen with an uncompressed chiclet-styled keyboard. The keys are evenly spaced, responsive, and have no flex to write about. The keyboard's layout doesn't require a learning curve, and typing on it is quite effortless. Same can be said of the X360's touchpad and mouse buttons, responsive and effortless. The X360 scores high in terms of usability and its good build quality, despite being lightweight.

In terms of features, the X360 is based on the Intel Centrino 2 platform, with a Core 2 Duo ULV (ultra-low voltage) SU9300 1.2GHz processor. ULVs operate on lower voltages, conserving battery life with slight compromise on performance. Our benchmarks agree: although it doesn't win any performance crown with a WorldBench 6 score of 68, the X360's 6-cell battery beat all others in the comparison by lasting 313 minutes - very impressive. It has 2GB of RAM, Intel X4500 graphics chipset, and 128GB of SSD (solid state drive). In comparison, the Latitude E4200 and ThinkPad X300 both have a paltry 64GB SSD. Solid state drives are much faster than normal hard drives in terms of speed and access time. For example, the X360 has random read speeds of upto 140MB/s in comparison to the sluggish 45MB/s of MSI PR201.

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