Back in 2007 the EEE series from ASUS, the netbook line, was released. It was exactly what people needed at the moment: something small, portable, light, and it could run Windows or Linux. Even if it was slow, all they wanted to do were basic computing tasks. After the release of the EEE series netbook, people instantly wanted more performance out of this new line of laptops.  

To handle the need for performance, the processor for the netbooks would just keep getting a small performance boost each release and finally get a second core. This helped, if you wanted to run Windows XP on one of the devices, but with the release of Windows 7, XP was to be no more. If there is any indication that netbooks had an impact on the computer world, the release of Windows 7 Starter edition was a good show of that. This version of Windows was built to limit how many open applications a user could have. To get around this, the computer industry would have to redesign the compact laptop industry again. Thus, here enters ultrabooks and ultralights.

Laptops that fit in the ultralights line are the MacBook Air and Samsung Series 9 type of laptops. They are very light, very thin, and most important they have a full processor, not an Intel Atom. With the advances in processor technology, companies can now have extremely thin laptops without giving up on performance. Steve Jobs made sure everyone knew you could get a compact laptop without losing the performance with the 2011 MacBook Air 2 model refresh. Samsung jumped on the boat with Apple when they released their Series 9 laptop in March which had a thinner thickest point but weighed a half of a pound heavier. An example of an ultrabook, ASUS revealed at Computex their entrance into the market with their now released UX21 model. The hands-on performance that I have seen the UX21 is on par with everything the MacBook Air has to offer with it’s thinness or form factor. ASUS goes on to say that with the specs on the model, you should be able to jam a Core i7 in the form factor.

It is safe to say, in my eyes, netbooks should be counting down their days soon. The only life lines for netbooks are their price point. If you want the best performing netbook, it will still cost you a lot. To this I would say: save up the extra money and buy the cheapest MacBook Air or a full powered Ultrabook. Ultrabook’s prices will have to come down once other companies start entering the market and that will happen sooner than you think. ASUS’ UX21 is set to be released in September of 2011, but there is talk that HP will beat them to it with two ultrabooks of their own.