Article: A Buyer’s Guide to Ultraportables (InformationWeek)

Fujitsu LifeBook P7230 InformationWeek has posted their Buyer’s Guide to Ultraportables earlier this week. As Kevin Tofel at jkOnTheRun pointed out, they left out UMPCs and Tablet PC “convertibles” and went for traditional laptops. They highlight one “image” problem (my term), that ultraportable laptops sometimes fall in between mobile devices – as smartphones and PDAs get better and faster, some opt to carry those for on-the-go email and web browsing, and then reverting to larger laptops for when they need power (larger being 14.1″ and up).

The ultraportable laptops mentioned:
Dell XPS M1330 13.3″, Around 4 pounds
Fujitsu LifeBook P723010.6″, Under 3 pounds
Lenovo ThinkPad X61s 12.1″, Under 3.2 pounds
Sony TZ Series – 11.1″, Under 3 pounds
Toshiba Portege R500 12.1″, Under 2.4 pounds
– Also, Apple’s MacBook Pro (just over 5 pounds).

InformationWeek mentions some interesting statistics:

But 30% of 687 company PC buyers surveyed by Forrester Research expect to increase buying ultralight laptops in the next two years, while just 4% expect a decrease. Laptop makers have made significant improvements in newer models, with faster processors and more system memory, plus batteries that can, in some cases, keep a laptop running for up to 12 hours on a single charge. And they’re packing in more features–especially ones focused on mobility.

Full article at InformationWeek.com
– Source: jkOnTherun