Ultrabooks

Ultrabooks have a sleeker, lighter weight profile than laptops, yet offer the competitive functionality that users demand for computer productivity and entertainment. These streamlined computers are more portable than laptops, so they're also known as ultra-portable notebooks. Staples® carries a wide range of ultrabooks from top brands, including HP®, Lenovo™, and Dell.

The Defining Characteristic of Ultrabooks Is Their Thin Silhouette
Ultra-portable notebook computers range from 18 millimeters thick for a screen size of 14 inches or less to 21 millimeters thick for any larger screen size. All ultrabooks are narrower than 0.87 inches.They also have ultra-low voltage (ULV) computer processors to conserve battery power and extend battery run time without sacrificing multitasking and speed. Ultra-portable notebooks have either Intel or AMD ULV processors. Both of the processors offer dual or multi-cores that support simultaneous execution functions in a single chip.

Ultrabooks Have Plenty of Memory and Storage
Most ultra-portable notebooks have a solid-state drive (SSD) or hybrid SSD and hard-disk drive (HDD) to support computer functionality. SSDs are circuit boards without moving parts. HDDs consist of spinning data platters with a read arm that scans and processes the data from the platter. SSDs process information more quickly than HDDs and are more durable. For the cost, however, HDDs are able to store more data, so hybrid SSD-HDD drives provide a good compromise between fast processing and total storage. Some ultra-portable notebooks are available with HDD-only drives.

You’ll find ultra-portable notebooks with industry-standard RAM capacity to support seamless, agile multitasking, ranging from 4 to 16GBs. Ultra-portable notebooks also come with impressive storage capacities, from 128GBs up to 2TBs.

How Large Are Ultrabook Screens?
Ultra-portable notebooks come in several screen sizes, so you can choose one for its convenience or one for its large visual array combined with portability. Screen sizes range from 10.6 to 15.6 inches, with common sizes of 11.6, 13.3, and 14 inches. Most ultra-portable notebooks support the higher pixel resolutions available for a sharp, high-contrast viewing experience, up to 1920 x 1080. An aspect ratio of 16:9 is common among ultrabooks, so the vast majority will accept HD video signals.

What Other Features Do Ultrabooks Offer?
Ultra-portable notebooks provide the amenities that users require for a rich, rewarding digital experience. Most of them offer Bluetooth compatibility for pairing the computer with such devices as speakers, printers, smartphones, and headphones. The vast majority of ultra-portable notebooks have high-definition audio with stereo speakers, as well as webcams for professional and social video conferencing. Some ultrabooks provide touchscreen capability, including 2-in-1 versatility that lets you detach the screen and use it as a tablet.

What Devices Are Compatible With Ultrabooks?
Most ultra-portable notebooks have at least one USB port, an HDMI port or mini-display port, and a headphone-microphone combination jack, supporting such devices as digital cameras, external drives, flash drives, TVs, audio players, and scanners. Since many ultra-portable notebooks save on space by foregoing CD-DVD drives, you can also hook up optical disk drives for burning and ripping music and video or for storing or backing up data.