(From top) Asus says that the UX21 can wake up from sleep mode in just two seconds; Toshiba’s Portege Z830 has got more ports than any other Ultrabook; Acer claims that the Aspire S3 connects to the Internet in 2.5 seconds; The ultra-slim MacBook Air weighs less than 1.5kg

So you’re hooked on to your light and tiny tablet and can’t get over how convenient it is to instantly connect with your Facebook friends, send emails and even read books on the go. But do you wish that it had more power for you to work on lengthy office documents and complicated spreadsheets? And are you still lusting after that gorgeous new MacBook Air but only wish it wasn’t a Mac, if you know what we mean?

Well, your dream machine could be knocking at your door. Yes, it’s an ultra-slim, ultra-light, ultra-responsive, ultra-cool device that combines the best features of a tablet with the computing muscle of a high-powered laptop at a consumer-friendly sub-$1,000 price at that, eventually. And yes, it works on the PC or Windows platform. It’s called an Ultrabook, and it’s a new category of laptops that’s hoping to reinvent the world of personal computing.And no, we’re not talking of the distant future here. The boot-up has happened in double quick time, in fact.

It was in May that chip-maker Intel, which is the force behind Ultrabooks, revealed its vision for the new category at the mega Computex fair. “The intention is to reinvent mobile computing,” says Prashanth Adiraju, director, new platforms business group, Intel South Asia, Now, earlier this month, Ultrabooks hogged the limelight at IFA, the huge Berlin consumer electronics fair.

After Asus unveiled the first Ultrabook at Computex in May, Acer, Lenovo and Toshiba rushed in to switch on their Ultrabooks at IFA. All four firms will bring their Ultrabooks to markets in the coming weeks. And, yes, by Diwali you could get your hands on one too — in India.

So let’s get clicking and take a look at what lies in store for the world of mobile computing.

Boot it up

Ultrabooks aim to be the future of portable computing. But what exactly is an Ultrabook?

An ultraportable or an extremely light and portable and yet power-packed computing device — as opposed to netbooks, which offer terrific form factor but compromise on performance — has been the holy grail of laptops for the last few years. But these ultraportables (think Dell’s Adamo range to Sony’s Vaio Z) typically cost an arm and leg at over $2,000 (Rs 1 lakh-plus).

The Samsung Series 9

Then came the 2010 MacBook Air — Apple first launched it in 2008 but the earlier versions lacked the performance punch — and its beauty-and-brains combine (at $999 too) instantly redefined portable computing. With its sexy slim-and-light frame and computing muscle, here was a personal device that could serve business needs. The refreshed 2011 Air takes this a step further.

Yes, PC makers have attempted to match the Mac beauty. Think of the Samsung Series 9 or the sleek 0.66-in-thin, 2.6lb Sony Vaio Z. But the price has been a deterrent.

Meanwhile, look at what’s been happening in the computing world. Mobile phones have gotten smarter. More importantly, tablets have emerged with disruptive force with their light form factor, long battery life and instant-on ability.

“The genesis of Ultrabooks is the disruption that the tablet brought about in the conventional IT space,” says S. Rajendran, chief marketing officer, Acer India.

“Computing’s getting pervasive from the 4-in to the 40-in screen. As the Internet gets more pervasive, users want to be able to compute in different ways,” adds Intel’s Adiraju. And the common thing, he says, is that “they want something which is ultra-responsive, ultra-slim and ultra small”. “There’s a growing demand for mobile computing,” he says.

Remember, however, that you can only do so much on a 4-in screen. And tablets are great for consuming content but they aren’t exactly geared for content creation. So enter Ultrabooks, which promise to deliver what Adiraju calls “a no-compromise experience”. “Our aim is to deliver the tablet-like experience when you want it and also have the flexibility of a full-fledged computing experience,” he says. Intel wants manufacturers to deliver this at mass price points of below $1,000 soon.

“Ultrabooks will be a revolution in the notebook industry,” adds Alex Huang, country manager, systems group, Asus India.

The master plan

Intel is the driving force behind Ultrabooks, spelling out a reference design for them and even putting together a $300-million Ultrabook Fund to turn its vision to reality.

What are the essentials of an Ultrabook? Intel lists four key elements. Form factor tops the list. So it must be ultra-thin and ultra-light. Intel’s suggested that it should be no thicker than 0.8-in or 21mm. The MacBook Air, incidentally, is 0.68-in thin and weighs 2.96lb.

Then, it must be ultra-responsive, that is, with an ultra-fast boot-up — in seven seconds or less, to be precise — and with the instant-on, always-connected capability of tablets to provide quick access to data and applications. A solid-state drive (SSD) or flash storage — it’s what tablets use — would help here against a conventional hard disk drive (HDD), which is also bulkier.

The third requirement is extended battery life of five to eight hours. And fourthly, they should be security-enabled. And of course, they should be affordable. Incidentally, the new Ultrabooks (like the MacBook Air) don’t have optical (DVD/Blu-ray) drives because these take space.

Intel’s looking at Ultrabooks coming to market in three phases over the next two years. The first phase will see the early market-makers launching their Ultrabooks in the coming weeks. These Ultrabooks are powered by Intel’s Sandy Bridge Core i3, i5 and i7 processors with SSDs or regular HDDs. Adiraju admits they’ll start with a premium pricing of around $1,000 or Rs 45,000 in phase one.

But he expects prices to quickly move down to hit the “mainstream sweet spot” of sub-Rs 30,000 in the second phase by the latter half of 2012. These second-phase Ultrabooks will feature Intel’s faster next-generation Ivy Bridge processors.

Intel even expects Ultrabooks to account for 40 per cent of all laptop sales by 2012.

“And in 2013, the aim is to really accelerate this category across the entire spectrum of computers,” says Adiraju. That means more products at new price points and sleeker and thinner designs too. And yes, you can expect touch-based interfaces too.

All this will require investments in new technology (such as longer-lasting batteries). Hence Intel’s Ultrabook Fund.

Skinny is in

So are you ready to get your hands on an Ultrabook? Check out the new models as they get off the ramp. First up are Ultrabooks from Acer, Asus, Lenovo and Toshiba.

Acer’s Aspire S3 will probably be the first Ultrabook to hit Indian stores by mid-October. The Aspire S3 is just 13mm or 0.5-in thin and weighs 1.4kg (3lb). Its 13.3-in display is housed in a sleek magnesium alloy case. More importantly, Acer claims that the Aspire S3 can wake up from sleep mode in just 1.5 seconds (though early reviews suggest it takes longer) and connect to the Internet in 2.5 seconds. Plus, it has a seven-hour battery life or up to 50 days in ‘Deep Sleep’ mode.

You can opt for a choice of Core i3, i5 and i7 processors and also choose between a 240GM SSD or 320GB/500GB HDD. Acer has indicated a price range of between 799 euros and 1,199 euros for the Aspire S3, which comes with two USB ports, an HDMI port (the MacBook Air lacks this) and SD card slot.

According to Rajendran, Acer India will initially target the “evolved customer who knows the benefits of Ultrabooks and is willing to pay a premium”.

Meanwhile, take a look at the Asus UX21 with its 11.6-in display. It’s 0.66-in at its thickest part and weighs 1.1kg. It sports an aluminium alloy body, glass trackpad and metal keyboard. Asus is promising a two-second resume time from sleep mode. The Asus UX21 comes with SSD storage and a faster USB 3.0 port too. You can configure it in Core i3, i5 and i7 processors. At IFA, Asus said its base Ultrabook model will start from 799 euros. But Asus India isn’t revealing its domestic launch plans yet.

Most of the first-generation Ultrabooks are roughly following Intel’s specs. So Toshiba’s Portege Z830 is also powerful yet lightweight. It goes on sale internationally in November and will be priced just under $1,000. Again, it weighs 1.1kg (2.45lb) and is 0.63-in thin. Toshiba’s characteristic sober design strain is evident in the brushed magnesium alloy finish. It even has a backlit keyboard. And it’s got more ports than the other Ultrabooks with three USB ports (one 3.0 and two 2.0), an Ethernet jack, HDMI and VGA ports, SD card slot and headphone jack too. Toshiba’s promising an over-eight hours charge with quick boot and resume times too.

Also coming in November in the US is the Lenovo IdeaPad U300s. This one’s shaped like a book and is likely to be priced at $1,195. Would you like this 0.6-in thin, 1.3kg (2.9lb) aluminium shell Ultrabook in a Graphite Gray or Clementine Orange? Lenovo’s promising up to eight hours of battery life with 30 days standby time. And it will boot in 10.5 seconds and resume in under five seconds.

The moot point

So can Ultrabooks beat the superhit MacBook Air? Incidentally, Apple’s said to be shipping five lakh MacBook Airs (running on Intel technology) monthly.

Now there’s no denying that scores of PC users are longing for a MacBook Air that runs on the Windows platform. So Ultrabooks are a step in the right direction in that sense.

But the deciding factor will be the price. Intel’s Adiraju admits that the first wave Ultrabooks will be premium products. Acer’s Rajendran too reckons that mass mobility is about nine months away.

Internationally, industry-watchers feel that Apple dominates the $1,000 price-plus space. Besides, PCs are already facing stiff competition from tablets for a share of the consumer’s wallet. So for the new Ultrabook makers, the trick will be to ramp up enough volumes to achieve economies of scale and bring down prices quickly.

Now, that won’t quite be easy. Things like SSD storage devices are still costly (that’s why the initial Ultrabooks are using a HDD-SDD hybrid strategy) and providing long battery life, with full-fledged computing power in a slim shell, is tough. That’s why Intel’s pumping in money to build the technology ecosystem.

Still Ultrabooks might just redefine the personal computing experience. And that would be another earth- shattering change in the world of technology.