Acer, Lenovo, and Toshiba show off first Ultrabooks at IFA 2

Ah, the Ultrabook! Intel’s made-up new market niche that combines the thin of the ‘thin and light’ group with the power of full size notebooks. Really, you could just keep calling them notebooks or laptops, but where’s the fun in that? Whatever you call them, the group represents a concerted effort by Windows laptop manufacturers to challenge the Macbook Air’s slim profile and solid performance.

At IFA 2011, Acer, Lenovo, and Toshiba have all shown off their first Ultrabook models. First up is the Acer Aspire S3 (above), which offers a 13.3″ LCD at 1366 x 768 pixels, integrated 1.3MP webcam, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 4.0. Processor options range from the Core i3 to i7, and Acer’s lower-end S3 models will feature a 320GB or 500GB hard drive — a 240GB SSD will also be available. Even at less than a half inch thick, the S3 still has room to include a standard HDMI port. Battery life on the Aspire S3 is estimated at 7 hours for SSD models, and Acer states that it can resume from sleep in about a second and a half. Prices for the Aspire S3 will start at 799€ (just over $1100).


Next up is the Lenovo IdeaPad U300s. Like the S3, it’s under a half inch thick and features a 13.3″ 1366 x 768 display. At the top end, the U300s can be configured with a Core i7 CPU, 4GB of RAM, and a 256GB SSD. There’s also a 1.3MP webcam, USB 3.0 ports, Intel WiDi and an HDMI port for video output.

Lenovo estimates up to eight hours of battery power, and the company’s RapidDrive SSD tech ensures near-10 second cold boot times. The U300s is available in the sexy clementine orange you see above as well as a more business-like graphite shade. It’ll go on sale in November at a starting price of $1,195.

Finally, we’ve got the Toshiba Portege Z830. And yes, it sports a 13.3 inch LCD at 1366 x 768 pixels and is about half an inch thick. At less than 2.5 pounds, however, Toshiba says the Z830 is the lightest 13.3″ notebook around.

Core i3, i5, and i7 processor options are available, and the Z830 packs a full array of ports: ethernet, VGA, HDMI, and two USB 2.0 and one USB 3.0. The obligatory webcam is also built in, and Toshiba estimates 8 hours of unplugged use on the U830′s 47Whr battery.

Apart from being light and packed with full-sized ports, the Z830 also feature a spill-resistant keyboard. It’s expected to hit the street at less than $1,000, but that’s as specific as Toshiba is getting at this point.

From the looks of things so far, it’s going to be tough for companies to make their Ultrabooks stand out from the crowd, but they’ll find a way — much like Android smartphone and tablet makers do. Acer’s offering high-capacity HDDs, Lenovo has ultra-fast boot times and the eye-catching orange shell, and Toshiba brings supreme portability without sacrificing hook-ups.

Those subtle differences and their respective price points will be the key factors as consumers decide which Winbook Air Ultrabook they’re going to purchase.