If you own a Windows 8 Ultrabook or laptop, then beware: according to Michael Prospero of LAPTOP Magazine, the average battery life of each category has gone down ever since the arrival of Windows 8 products.

Using a variety of products for testing (such as the Dell XPS 12, Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga, Sony VAIO Duo 11, and Toshiba U925t), Prospero concluded that the average battery life for ultraportables sat at 5 hours and 9 minutes. Meanwhile, the Thin & Lights category fell to 5 hours and 7 minutes on average.

There could potentially be several different issues causing the low battery life, from the touch-screens, the operating system, or the various software that comes pre-installed. Nonetheless, considering that ultrabooks are supposedly known for their long battery life (thus the reason behind the drastic change from removable batteries to internal batteries), this definitely proposes an issue in today's electronics.

This isn't to say that the problem will remain: even with smartphones, many OTA (over-the-air) hotfixes and updates have been applied in order to increase battery life. It remains to be seen whether Windows 8 will fall in line with this trend though, or if the drop in battery life can be pinpointed to other reasons.

Sources: laptopmag.com

From smartphones to cars, batteries can be found in many of our common everyday electronics. These batteries come in numerous shapes, sizes and capacities, enabling them to power our devices for hours at a time. Whether you're buying a new battery or getting rid of an old one, check out the infographic below to see some general rules and guidelines about batteries.

Link to us!

Below are some alternative sizes and file types if you would like to link to us or embed it on your site.

ebatts_infographic_550px JPG (519.88 kb)

ebatts_infographic_1000px JPG (447.63 kb)

ebatts_infographic_550px PDF (718.40 kb)

ebatts_infographic_1000px_PDF (3.02 mb)

A good rule of thumb is "the bigger the better". This hasn't necessarily applied to notebooks though, especially with the emergence of the Ultrabook category, where everything seems to be getting thinner and more sleek. Toshiba, however, seems to want to change things up: in a bold move, they've released the Satellite U845W Ultrabook, which has an extra-wide screen with a 21:9 aspect ratio.

Weighing in at 4 pounds, the 14.4" ultrabook sports a 1792x768 panel, making it excellent for viewing windows side-by-side. One would think that the screen size offers a distinct advantage when watching movies as well, but since most media isn't filmed in this aspect ratio, you'll usually just wind up with black blocks on the left and right sides of the screen. That isn't to say that the screen itself and the images it projects are bad: in fact, it's quite the contrary, and the ultrabook provides everything you'd expect.

As far as battery-life is concerned, the Satellite U845W lasted just a little over 5 hours when run through Engadget's tests. The tech site also confirms, "That's on par with other 14-inch Ultrabooks, such as the Series 5, which lasted five hours and nine minutes."

For a more in-depth look at this wide-screened behemoth, check out Engadget's full review.

Source: engadget

Last month Vizio, known for their presence in the television market, started a new chain of laptop products. Titled "Thin + Light," they keep true to their name and resemble the Ultrabook-category.

The first Thin + Light model has a 14-inch, 1600x900 display, while the second one has a 15-inch, 1080p screen. Each contain Ivy Bridge processors and will have a battery life of roughly 7 hours. Meanwhile, a third product, dubbed the "15.6-inch Notebook," will have different specs (such as a Kepler GPU from NVIDIA), but will maintain the same 7-hour battery life.

So what can Vizio offer that other laptops don't? Each notebook will have a "V key" which lets you access Hulu Plus, Netflix, and other video providers. However, Vizio doesn't force these on you - no subscription to any service is required - you simply have a shortcut to get there, in case you want to. Vizio did mention that these services may be offering deals specific to these laptops at a later time.

Sources: prnewswire, engadget

Many people may ask, “What’s an Ultrabook?” It’s quite simple really. Think of an Apple MacBook Air. Thin, light, and has a sleek design. It’s a cross between a small netbook and a full size laptop, but the new line of Ultrabooks come with complete hardware specs of the 2nd gen Intel Core i3, i5, and i7 processors. This makes an Ultrabook a very fast netbook with all of the upgrades. A true Ultrabook must weigh less than 4 pounds, is no more that 0.8 inches thick, and has a battery life of 5 hour or more.

Check out a few of the top Ultrabooks that have hit the notebook market.

Acer Aspire S3
Processor: Intel Core i5 2467M Processor 1.6GHz, 4GB RAM
Price: $899 list

Asus Zenbook UX31E
Specs: Intel Core i5 2557M Processor 1.7GHz, 4GB RAM)
Price: $1049 list

Dell XPS 13
Specs: Intel Core i5 2467M Processor 1.6GHz, 4GB RAM)
Price: $999 list

HP Folio 13
Specs: Intel Core i5 2467M Processor 1.6GHz, 4GB RAM)
Price: $899.99 list

Lenovo IdeaPad U300s
Specs: Intel Core i7 2677M Processor 1.8GHz, 4GB RAM, 13.3-inch display)
Price: $1495 list

Samsung Series 5 Ultra
Specs: Intel (Core i5 2467M Processor 1.6GHz, 4GB RAM, 13.3-inch display)
Price: $899.99 list

Toshiba Portege Z830-S8302
Specs: Intel Core i7 2677M Processor 1.8GHz, 6GB RAM, 13.3-inch display)
Price: $1,429.00 list

Toshiba Portege Z835-P330
Specs: Intel Core i7 2677M Processor 1.8GHz, 6GB RAM, 13.3-inch display)
Price: $799.99 list

You also might notice that the new Asustek Zenbook looks almost identical to the Apple MacBook Air.

It looks like Apple has set the standard for an Ultrabook way back in 2008. Everyone else is finally catching up.

Here’s a video overview of the new Acer Aspire S5 Ultrabook:

Sources:
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2400007,00.asp
http://asia.cnet.com/top-5-affordable-ultrabooks-62213298.htm
http://9to5mac.com/2012/02/13/report-apple-forcing-contract-manufacturer-pegatron-to-choose-sides-give-up-asustek-zenbook-orders/