Read This Before Buying an Ultrabook

Are you and your business partners on the road a lot? Do you need a laptop that can make trips easily and return still ready for action? It's time to pick out the best ultrabooks in 2016 for your company: We've got the details you need to begin your search – and a few models to suggest, too.

Top Things to Know About Ultrabooks

  • They're Light: Well, duh – but this is actually worth noting: The best ultrabooks tend to be very small and slim, weighing only 2-5 pounds on average. This makes them heavier than tablets and hybrids, but also gives them extra protection from the rigors of travel – along with a more comfortable keyboard.
  • Mobility Comes at a Price: Ultrabooks get that light by ditching everything they don't need. Your road warriors need to accept that ultrabooks just won't have the speed or storage options that a bulkier laptop will (although improvements are being made on this front). We advise taking along an external storage drive and doing plenty of work in the cloud.
  • Ports Are Important: Ultrabooks don't always have the ports you may need. When buying, make sure you pick models that have every connection you need on the go – the latest USB standards, HDMI, DisplayPort, etc.

Features in a Good Travel Laptop

  • Battery Life: Always pay attention to battery life. Acceptable ranges are around 10-12 hours – beware laptops that drop too far below this mark. A travel laptop needs to have a reliable, long-lasting battery to perform everywhere.
  • Enough Storage: Most ultrabook storage is moving over to high-speed SSD, which is good. Unfortunately, storage options are still a little thin, which is bad. Look for SSD drives around 256GBs, if possible. Certain model types won't get anywhere near this, because they have a focus on cloud data instead.
  • Touchscreen: A touchscreen can save a lot of time when on the road – but remember that you'll have to pay for it.
  • Your Kind of OS: Windows? Mac OS X? Pick your poison based on what your business needs.

Microsoft Surface Book

Surface Book

If you want the best ultrabook, take a look at the new Surface Book from Microsoft, which includes some of the most robust specs we've seen in a laptop, all in a design that's easy to carry around. The ultra HD touchscreen, options up to 1TB of storage, 16GB of RAM, and a new advanced stylus make this the ultrabook to beat…if you can afford to spend a few thousand dollars at the Microsoft store.

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon

Thinkpad-x1-carbon-e1454907924699

You probably haven't seen a ThinkPad quite like this before: It features carbon fiber components for extra protection, biometric access for increased security, and Mobile Hotspot capabilities to share your wi-Fi. In other words, it's road-oriented computer. Specs include a 14-inch HD screen with options for outdoor antiglare coating, up to 256 GB of of SSD storage, and up to 8GB of RAM. Remember to get the newer version, as the earlier X1 Carbons received…less than favorable reviews of this ultrabook.

Asus ZenBook UX305

Asus-Zenbook-UX305-e1454907707478

This little ultrabook laptop comes with a Core i5 processor, up t0 8GB of RAM, up to 256GB of SSD storage, and a 13-inch anti-glare screen. It's designed to be extra small and lightweight – under 3 pounds – which makes it ideal for sneaking into a carry-on. The price, at $760 for the premium model, is a bit on the high side, but it's worth the money.

This article is brought to you as part of a syndication partnership with Gadget Review.

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Grew up back East, got sick of the cold and headed West. Since I was small I have been pushing buttons - both electronic and human.
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