Networking
It used to be that you could expect an
Ethernet port on a laptop as standard, but this has changed dramatically in
recent years. Thanks to a combination of the growth of Wi-Fi and the push towards
laptop chassis designs much thinner than an Ethernet port itself, you can’t
guarantee that there will be one onboard (Ultrabooks, for example, don’t need
Ethernet to qualify under Intel’s specifications).
For
example, a 3x3 adapter like Intel’s top end Centrino 6300 chip is able to send
three simultaneous streams to a compatible source
One trend we have been watching in recent
months is laptops using fold-down Ethernet ports. Designed to allow Ethernet on
chassis that are too thin for a traditional port, they save on having to carry
USB or Thunderbolt based Ethernet adapters around.
What you can guarantee is Wi-Fi of some
sort, but not all Wi-Fi is created equal. Currently the best widely-available
wireless standard is 8021m (the faster 802.llac routers have begun appearing
but there are currently no adapters on the market to take advantage of them).
All modern laptop wireless chips will support 802.lln, but there are other
factors to take into account.
The first is the number of antennas
attached to the wireless chip. This is designated with a number like 3x3 or
2x2, which refers to the number of simultaneous streams that can be sent by the
adapter. For example, a 3x3 adapter like Intel’s top end Centrino 6300 chip is
able to send three simultaneous streams to a compatible source (i.e. a router
that supports 3x3 speeds). This triples the theoretical bandwidth of the
connection, but it doesn’t mean you can connect to multiple Wi-Fi sources at
once (that will come later as part of 802.11ac).
As well as the number of antennas, the
other big wireless technology to keep an eye on is dual band. This means that
the adapter is capable of running on either the 2.46Hz or 56Hz frequency, as
long as the router it is connecting to supports it.
While it is tempting to just go for the
best Wi-Fi option you can get, the reality is that unless you are regularly
connecting to an expensive 3x3 router you won’t get the best bang for your
buck. Dual band is more important in our minds, but again it is router
dependant.
As
well as the number of antennas, the other big wireless technology to keep an
eye on is dual band.
What makes an Ultrabook?
Over the years Intel has seen success in
creating umbrella brands that encompass several of its technologies under one
moniker. Probably the most significant of these is Centrino, which first
launched in 2003. In order for manufacturers to be able to use the Centrino
brand, they had to use specific Intel CPUs, chipsets and wireless cards.
Centrino was a raging success for Intel,
and the program operated up until the end of 2010. The Centrino brand lives on,
but Is now only used for Intel’s wireless hardware. It stands as one of the
most important moves the company has made. Not only did it help Intel sell more
products, but it acted as an easy way for consumers to get a guaranteed
experience out of their laptops without needing to know the specifics of the
hardware within.
What
makes an Ultrabook?
In many ways the Ultrabook is the successor
to the (Centrino platform. It is a trademarked Intel brand, and laptop
manufacturers need to comply with a strict set of standards in order to use it,
It Is a standard that is heavily enforced, as well. We’ve seen same smaller
manufacturers advertise non-compliant machines as Ultrabooks, only to be stopped
very quickly by Intel.
Again, this has a dual benefit of helping
Intel sell more hardware and ensuring that consumers get a defined experience
from something bearing the Ultrabook name. There have been two Ulitrabook
definitions released so far, the latest of which is based around the new Ivy
Bridge third generation Core i processors. Unlike Centrino, the Ultrabook
definition includes the physical dimensions of the laptop as well as the
hardware that lies within.
These
official requirements also cover the thickness of laptops, with three different
categories defined.
This 2012 Ultrabook platform requires the
following hardware to be compliant: a 17W Ivy Bridge CPU (one that has the U
suffix on the model name) is needed, as is a supporting chipset. Ultrabooks
must have USB 3 ports and delivers hours minimum battery life. They also need
to be able to resume from hibernation in under 7 seconds (this is enabled via
onboard flash memory and Intel’s Rapid Start Technology). One of the new
additions to the specification is requirements for storage, with a minimum
capacity of 16GB and minimum transfer speeds of 80MB/s. This allows or both
hard drives and SSDs to be employed in Ultrabooks.
These official requirements also cover the
thickness of laptops, with three different categories defined. The first is for
13.31n and smaller screens, which must be less than 18 mm thick, while the
other major category is for 14 m and larger screens, which can be up to 21 mm
thick. Both of these definitions haven’t changed from last generation, but
there is now a third category of convertible tablets, which can be up to 23 mm
in thickness.
Finally there is a trio of Intel
technologies that are needed. These are version 8 of Intel’s Management Engine,
Intel Anti- Theft technology and Intel Identity Protection Technology. These
are built into the chipset and the latter two work in conjunction with various
third party security solutions.
There are still plenty of aspects of laptop
design that aren’t covered by Intel’s definition, and you’ll find models with
discreet GPUs, exotic aspect ratios on screens and a variety of different
construction materials that all fall under the name. Think of it as a
definition of the bare minimum hardware needed.
What it means is that if you buy something
with the Ultrabook moniker you can be assured that all of these requirements
will be met, You’ll also find plenty of thin and light laptops that don’t quite
meet these specifications but still deliver great battery life in a tiny
package.
