Ultrabooks Gearing Up For Competition Against Tablets: Best 5 Ultrabooks Released So Far

While Apple's iPad 3 is creating records in terms of sales, the Intel is all set to rock the tech world with the launch of a new class of ultrabooks.

In the world dominated by touch-based tablets and laptops, the ultrabooks have started attracting the tech lovers and people who just cannot work without a full QWERTY keyboard, believe Intel product manager Anand Kajshmanan and Intel media relations representative Alison Wesley.

While the uber-thin portable device will give a tough competition to the touch-based tablets in the coming days, the forthcoming breed will be better than any other devices offered by Apple, claim the Intel representatives.

According to them, the major reasons for the growing interest in ultrabooks are their ultra-responsiveness, portability, battery life, sleek cases and connectivity. Also, the look and feel and security features of the device are among the key winning factors for the ultrabooks.

While we restrain ourselves to comment on which device is better, we would definitely look forward to see the competition between ultrabooks and tablets in the coming days. But for now, check out the list of top 5 ultrabooks that are available in the market.

HP Folio 13

This particular device has been designed keeping in mind the need for the corporate market. This performance-oriented device is certainly not the thinnest one in the market but is the perfect device for professional use.

The device has an impressive battery life, nice backlit keyboard, Windows 7 Professional, Ethernet port and a very competitive entry-level price.

The device also includes support for Intel's WiDi and a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) hardware cryptography security setup.

The HP Folio 13 is available at $899.99 with Windows 7 Home Premium or $1,048.99 with Windows 7 Professional.

Bottom Line: In terms of performance, price and ergonomics, HP Folio 13 has been rated as the best in its class by the CNET. A pinch in the salt is its weight and not-so-impressive design.

Asus Zenbook UX31

This Asus device comes with ultra low-voltage Core i5 processor, which results in a gratifying performance.

The Zenbook UX31-RSL8 measures 0.66 by 12.79 by 8.78 inches (HWD), and is roughly the same size as the Apple MacBook Air.

The device sports USB 2.0, USB 3.0 (which cannot be found in Apple MacBook Air), mini VGA-to-VGA and USB-to-Ethernet dongles for added connectivity.

The UX31-RSL8 comes with a 128GB solid-state drive (SSD), and the company gives access to Asus's Web Storage to store your important docs to the cloud. Asus also provides 2GB of free storage space for a year, and you can buy the unlimited space for a modest subscription fee that starts from $8.99 for a three-month subscription to $54.99 for two years.

Dell XPS 13

The Dell XPS 13 comes with a glass-covered 13-inch screen. Unlike its predecessors, the XPS 13 ultrabook is a much thinner and lighter device that weighs only 2.9 pounds. The device has USB 3.0, USB 2.0, 3.5mm headphone, and MiniDisplay ports. The biggest drawback of the device is its absence of SD card slot.

Dell XPS 13 has an aluminum cover and comes with 128GB solid-state drive (SSD) and Intel Core i5-2467M CPU.

The device also sports a very reasonable price tag of $999.

Samsung Series 9

The sleek design and the razor-thin metal body make Series 9 the most stunning ultrabook available in today's market. The device comes in 13-inch and 15-inch varieties.

The backlit keyboard, touch pad, edge-to-edge Gorilla Glass cover over the big and bright screen are the major winning features of the Samsung ultrabook.

The Samsung device is priced at $999.

Toshiba Portege Z835

Toshiba Portege Z835 is said to be the lightest and the cheapest ultrabook. This device is believed to be the best luxury ultraportable device and can take on Apple MacBook Air.

With catchy design, stunning configuration (which is missing in most of the ultrabooks), mini Display Port to D-Sub adapter, WiDi 2.0, USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 to Ethernet port, performance of this device is almost similar to HP Folio 13.

Portege Z835 is also known for its longest battery life in the category.

The price of this model starts at $799.99.