Ultrabooks for business presentations

[dochealth]

Thinking of buying ultrabook for travel. Main need is for business presentations using video and powerpoint.

Do they have sufficient usb and other connectivity to support external speakers and link to projector?

Thanks in advance

DH

[Genghis the Engineer]

I have a Toshiba Portege, which I think is what's now known as an Ultrabook. It's about a year old.

And yes - 3xUSB, VGA, 3.5mm audio-out jack socket, SD card slot....

I have no trouble running a reasonable external speaker powered off one USB socket, and taking sound from the 3.5mm jack.

I use it for presentations and business use regularly, and have yet to have any significant problem. With the screen brightness right down and the WiFi off, I can get 5-6 hours out of it, which once you've shut it down for dinner, just about crosses the Atlantic back in steerage where you seldom get power.

I did buy mine without a drive to keep the weight down, and do carry an external drive and spare battery - just to be on the safe side, although neither gets used much.

G

[seacue]

I have a Netbook, which cost about 1/3-rd of what they ask for ultrabooks. Mine is an MSI U100, which is no longer on the market. I think that some other Netbooks are still sold. The "Atom" processor isn't too sprightly, but I used it on a recent two-week trip and didn't feel hampered. I did quite a bit of C programming and compiling during the trip, as well as making and editing presentation slides..

Like Genghis', it has 3xUSB, VGA, 3.5mm audio-out jack socket, SD card slot. I carry a wireless mouse, since I can't get used to the trackpad / touchpad. Like other Netbooks / Ultrabooks, it doesn't contain an optical drive. I bought an external (USB) one which I leave at home - nice to have for loading software. Even with the optional larger battery, it's light and goes in my carry-on bag. I have a padded sleeve for it, which has a zipper pocket for flash drives, etc. I can't imagine carrying a "full-size" (15" 17") laptop any longer.

I've used it for OpenOffice Impress (read PowerPoint) talks.

Like all laptops, etc, it has an external charger, which is also small and light enough to go in a corner of my carry-on. I

[The late XV105]

My wife has had an ASUS Eee PC 1000H netbook running XP for the past three and a half years from when it was new, and we have often taken it on our travels. I have also used it a couple of times for work, and it is perfectly fine. Battery life is strong (6 to 8 hours powered up depending on usage) and it does with ease all that you describe. The only weakness in what it gets used for is video streaming. Over Wifi, iPlayer SD is the reliable limit whereas either of our laptops will stream iPlayer HD over the same 801.11g WiFi connection in the same location without hiccup. I changed the WiFi card and performed all manner of recommended tuning, and whilst some of this has helped, it can't disguise the limitations of quite basic architecture.

My professional occupation requires extensive travel, and my employer recently replaced my trusty - but heavy - Lenovo T61 and extended battery with a much lighter Lenovo X1 ultraportable with solid state disk, and for long haul flights without seat power, a second, thin, "slice" battery that clips underneath. It is a fabulous machine that does what I ask of it with blistering performance and without doubt the best keyboard I have ever used on any computer, but then the cost was over six times that of the £299 ASUS.