The Ultrabooks of Computex 2012

It was last year that Intel chose Computex, a computer tradeshow in Taiwan, to introduce its Ultrabook concept to the world. Twelve months later, 110-plus models are in the pipeline, which meant the Taipei Convention Center was overrun by skinny, lightweight laptops. Make that skinny, touch-enabled laptops. Between those new Ivy Bridge chips and Microsoft putting the finishing touches on Windows 8, this week's show was nothing if not a five-day-long wedding between two tech giants: almost every device on display here was a vehicle for showing off Microsoft's glossy new OS. At every turn, a celebration of touchscreen notebooks.

Acer Aspire S7

Acer was the first company to ship an Ultrabook, which means it's now showing off its third generation at a time when other companies are just getting around to announcing their first. Still, the Aspire S7 series marks a departure for Acer: these are the outfit's first touchscreen Ultrabooks, for one, and they also happen to be the company's sexiest. Plastic? Try unibody metal. A 1366 x 768 screen? How about a 1080p display that folds back 180 degrees? And while you won't find this on the 11-inch model, the 13-inch version has a slick glass lid, similar to the HP Envy 14 Spectre. For now, Acer isn't ready to reveal pricing or even specs like processors and storage options. In the meantime, we'll say we were impressed with those high-res touchscreens, though we wish Acer reconsidered its shallow Acer Laptop Keyboard design.

ASUS TAICHI

Easily the most inventive design we saw this week, the TAICHIconvertible laptop has dual screens: one facing the keyboard, just like on a normal notebook, and one on the lid. In laptop mode, you can view the 11- or 13-inch screen while using a backlit Asus laptop keyboard . Shut the lid, though, and you've got yourself a big-screen tablet, complete with pen support. Whichever way you use it, ASUS went decidedly all-out on the specs: the TAICHI makes use of a Core i7 processor, solid-state storage and a Super IPS+ display with an optional 1080p resolution. The best part, potentially: ASUS says the final version will be about as thin as the rest of its Ultrabooks, despite the fact that these have twice the screens built in.


ASUS Transformer Books

Think of it as the love child between an ASUS Transformer tablet and a Zenbook Ultrabook. At first glance, ASUS' Transformer Booksare merely a group of 11-, 13- and 14-inch laptops with touchscreens. In fact, though, the displays can be lifted away from their keyboards, leaving you with an oversized slate. What's especially neat about this concept is that even after you detach the screen you've got a full-blown x86-based tablet, not some lower-powered ARM device. At the same time, the display has some of the amenities you'd expect in a regular Transformer -- namely, front- and rear-facing cameras. As with the TAICHI, ASUS chose some top-end specs: up to a Core i7 CPU with an SSD, IPS display and optional discrete graphics.



Dell Inspiron 14z and 13z

With a starting weight of 4.1 pounds and a fairly plain interior, the 14z was hardly the sleekest laptop on Intel's Ultrabook Wall of Fame. Still, a starting price of $700 makes it easily one of the most affordable. For now, the base model comes with a Sandy Bridge Core i3 CPU, unfortunately, but pay a little more and you'll get third-generation Core i5 and i7 processors, as you'd expect on any other Ultrabook. Really, the biggest tradeoff is likely to be storage: the 14z starts with a 320GB hard drive, Dell laptop keyboard and tops out with a 500GB HDD, meaning you'll have to step up to the XPS 13 if you want a solid-state drive. The good news: folks who need an Ultrabook before October can scoop one up June 19th. If the 14z's relative heft turns you off, there's also a 13-inch model, which weighs 3.8 pounds



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