Laptop is all about portability and functionality. A heavy notebook is good for nothing when you leave it back in your room because you cannot afford to hold it during traveling, or leave some other important luggage to carry the heavyweight portable. Why are net books being liked so much? The only reason is their small size and light weight.

Here, we will discuss three thinnest and most lightweight laptops; the Apple MacBook, Dell XPS 1330 126B, and HP Pavilion dv3510nr.

1. MacBook:

The new 13” MacBook possesses an aluminum body and is available under $1600. Main specifications are:

32.5 x 22.7 x 2.4 nm
13.3 in TFT active matrix, 1280 x 800, LED backlit
Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz
2 GB/ 4 GB RAM, DDR3 SDRAM – 1066 MHz
EPA energy star, EPEAT gold compliance
250 GB – Serial ATA-150 – 5400 rpm
Integrated CD/DVD RW
NVIDIA GeForce 9400M Shared video memory (UMA)
Integrated web cam
Touchpad, backlit keyboard, multi touch technology
Ethernet , Gigabit Ethernet , IEEE 802.11n (draft) , Bluetooth 2.1 EDR , IEEE 802.11a , IEEE 802.11b , IEEE 802.11g
1 x Network, 2 x Hi-Speed USB, 1 x Display / video , 1 x Audio- Mini-phone 3.5 mm, 1 x Audio – SPDIF output/headphones – Mini-phone 3.5 mm
Battery life 5 hrs
Software: Front Row , Apple iCal , Apple iChat , Photo Booth , Apple Safari , Apple Spaces , Apple Dashboard , Apple QuickTime , Apple Spotlight , Apple iLife ?09 , Apple DVD Player , Apple Quick Look , Apple Address Book , Apple Time Machine , Apple Mac OS X Mail , Drivers & Utilities , Apple XCode Developer Tools

Features:

This MacBook Pre Mini has a 13” wide screen, and is an ultra portable laptop. With edge-to-edge glass on the LED-backlit display, all-button touchpad, improved graphics and uni-body aluminum case, this is a beautiful notebook.

It has a 250 GB hard drive, and Intel core 2 Duo processor. Other features include redesigned customizable track-pad with multi touch technology, backlit keyboard, optical DVD drive, wireless connectivity, integrated web cam, and LED backlit display.

Product’s Unique Selling Points:

Thinner and lighter
Solid aluminum uni-body
Large multi-touch touch-pad
Edge-to-edge glass on display
Backlit keyboard

Limitations:

No ExpressCard or SD-card slot or FIREWIRE port
Difficult to use touchpad
No matte-screen option

2 . Dell XPS 1330 126B:

It is a decent and well designed laptop, with Intel core 2 duo processor, and is lighter than the above mentioned MacBook by Apple.

Specs:

12.5” x 9.4” x 1.4”
4.4lbs
13.3 in TFT active matrix, 1280 x 800 ( WXGA ), TrueLife , UltraSharp
Vista Home Premium
Intel Core 2 Duo T7250 / 2 GHz, 800 MHZ, 2MB L2 cache
4GB RAM DDR II SDRAM – 667 MHz
320 GB – Serial ATA-150 – 5400 rpm
DVD RW (dual layer)
SDIO , Memory Stick , MultiMediaCard , SD Memory Card , XD-Picture Card , Memory Stick Pro , SDHC Memory Card
Intel GMA X3100 Dynamic Video Memory Technology 4.0
Integrated 2MP web cam
Dell Wireless 1395
802.11 b/g wireless LAN

Features:

This 13” laptop is a perfect choice for students out there. It is wedge-shaped and a pound lighter than MacBook. The glossy display is, though, difficult for understanding the words and touchpad is too small.

There are only 2 USB ports, but the positive aspect is the presence of an HDMI port. With 320 GB hard drive, it gives great deal of memory storage to the user.

Product’s Unique Selling Points:

Thinner and lighter
Great design
Good battery life

Limitations:

Over glossy screen
Too tiny touchpad

3 . HP Pavilion dv3510nr:

HP and Best Buy have teamed up to create this wonderful first Blue Label laptop. Packed with great features, this sleek and slim laptop delivers great level of performance.

Specs:

12.6” x 9” x 1.4”
4.6 lb
13.3 in TFT active matrix, 1280 x 800 ( WXGA ), BrightView
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit Edition
NVIDIA GeForce 9300M GS
Intel Core 2 Duo P7350 / 2 GHz, 1066MHZ
4GB RAM DDR2 SDRAM
EPEAT silver compliance
320 GB – Serial ATA-150 – 5400 rpm
DVD RW (R DL) / DVD-RAM
Memory Stick , MultiMediaCard , SD Memory Card , XD-Picture Card , Memory Stick Pro
Altec Lansing speakers
Integrated web cam
Intel WiFi Link 5100
Ethernet , Bluetooth , IEEE 802.11a , IEEE 802.11b , IEEE 802.11g , Fast Ethernet , Gigabit Ethernet , IEEE 802.11n (draft)
Software: Microsoft Works , CyberLink Youcam , CyberLink DVD Suite , Adobe Acrobat Reader , HP Total Care Advisor , Microsoft Windows Mail , HP Help and Support Center , Microsoft Internet Explorer , Microsoft Windows Photo Gallery , Norton Internet Security 2008 (1 year subscription)

Features:

It is the first Best Buy Blue Label laptop. It has a 13.3” Brightview display, and is very light weight. Graphics are good but not perfect for 3D gaming.

The backlit keyboard is extra spacious and easy to use. Glossy finishing of the touchpad is not very easy to use. With an ExpressCard expansion, 3 USB and an HDMI port, and wireless connectivity, this is a nice pick.

Product’s Unique Selling Points:

Lightweight and slim
Centrino 2 platform
Backlit keyboard and media control keys
Fingerprint reader
Remote control
HDMI and eSATA ports
Great application and 3D performance
Full-size backlit keyboard
Great battery life
2 yr warranty

Limitations:

No FireWire
Glossy touchpad makes working difficult

Final Words:

These were the top ultra portable laptops available. All of these 3 are a good choice, and the users can choose according to their likes and dislikes.

Written by “Seemab”

When it comes to inner stuff, Nvidia’s new chipset with enhanced integrated graphics is a real nice thing to mention. Many physical changes have also been made outside that include unibody aluminum chassis, the buttonless touchpad and sleek glass on the LED-backlit.

Its base model has the same $1,299 price tag, but the FireWire port is missing in its transition. And instead of a 2.4GHz CPU, this $1299 model houses a 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo. There is the same 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo processor in the high-end model. Both these new MacBook models run on a quicker front-side bus.

Without FireWire and slower CPU, this new MacBook really expresses an impressive feat and value of engineering and this is a thing that almost everyone can expect from a flagship product of the company and which has been serving as favorite for quite some time.

Some notable physical changes have been made that include an aluminum chassis instead of well-known white and black body. New totally redesigned touchpad is another new notable feature and it has the same multitouch gestures that you can see in the iPhone as well as in MacBook Air and Pro.

When it comes to display, the 13.3” LCD display gives out a nice 1280X800 native resolution that is standard for 13 and 15” screens. It makes text and icons quite clearly readable LED-backlit displays have also been added that indicate towards a thinner lid and various benefits including sound battery life.

This new MacBook is not nicely packed with connections as it has only two 2.0 USB ports without any FireWire. But this time you would find them an SD-card reader as well as an ExpressCard slot that you may have desired in Mac for quite some time.

When it comes to performance, without some new CPU options, the real great development has been made by packing a new Nvidia chipset in it that is also called the 9400M GeForce that has some nice improved integrated graphics. These GeForce 9400 graphics are quite impressive and offer 58.7 frames per second at the resolution of 1024×768.

As far as battery life is concerned, these laptops from Apple’s laptops are quite well known for their above average battery life and the same impressiveness you can expect from these new laptops. Apple has the knack to impress as well as somewhat frustrate with its nice service and support and the same is true about these new laptops.

Written by “Aftab Bashir”

So for the extra money, the company has doubled the RAM in the model and is now sitting at 1 GB 667 MHz DDR2 RAM chips inside. And for all those graphic lovers out there, there is an NVIDIA Geforce graphics card with 9400M included with al additional 256 MB of SRAM. The hard drive has gone through an upgrade as well and is now available with the capacity of 320GB that can easily accommodate all your movies, pictures and everything else you’ve always wanted.

So, there is a genuine increase in the specifications, but if we believe the reports from the Boy Genius, customers in the United States do not have to pay for all the extra stuff that comes along but is priced extra in the UK market. This might end up agitating the UK customers when they come to know about the deals in US.

Since its release, Apple has been contended of issuing small periodic upgrades in hardware, which continued to add horsepower to its CPU while keeping the price constant. In November 2007, the recent update has bumped up its available CPU configuration to 2.2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo and added the Santa Rosa platform from Intel with slightly better graphics. This update has led to a slight boost in its performance. However, you’ll have more interest in the Leopard version of operating system that is coming preinstalled on newer MacBooks. This will be adding some new useful features, which has kept MacBook amongst the popular laptops on the planet.

Screen & Battery

Its 13.3-inch wide-screen LCD provides a clear and easy-to-read 1,280 x 800 resolution, which can be considered conventional for screen of such size. It even has a wonderful battery life. MacBook can run for over 4 hours, when it is put on full load.

Typical minimalist setup of Apple

Inside your MacBook, you’ll find the typical minimalist setup of Apple, which includes a full-size keyboard, sizable touchpad with single mouse button, power button and an in-built iSight camera sitting above its display. Flat-key keyboard of Apple is impressive.

New inclusions in updated version

The new feature, which is sure to catch the eye, is inclusion of Leopard, Apple’s latest OS X. The feel and look have largely remained the same. However, numerous useful features have been supplemented, which includes the Time Machine and a user-friendly utility for backup. You also get ‘Spaces’, a feature allowing setting up of multiple desktops. Again, you get ‘Quick Look’ that allows you to open a quick preview version of any file or document without requiring to wait for running of the associated applications.

Apple MacBook is, no doubt, one of the most loved laptop on the planet. At $1,099 (starting price), both its appearance and performance are perfect for all users. With the inclusion of new Operating System and other excellent features, its popularity will only receive a boost.

Unique Selling Point

Operating System: Leopard OS X

Battery Life: Around 4 and a half hour on full load

Keyboard: Flat-key keyboard is impressive

Presence of Intel’s Santa Rosa Platform is also an advantage