World's lightest laptops

Thin is in, and not only in the fashion world, but also in laptops. The mean machines too are fast shedding their flab and turning into a sleek corporate companion.

Trend made popular by Apple Air which weighs a cool 1.36 kg, has been lapped up by most hardware companies who are wooing consumers with lighter and sleeker designs.

Apple Air was closely followed by Lenovo, and recently the Korean giant Samsung unveiled its latest laptop range titled "Lighter than Air."

The big two laptop manufacturers, HP and Dell, too are not behind. The duo boasts of some super thin laptops in their portfolio. Here's a look at some of the lightest laptop models in the market.

One of the favourites in the thin category, Apple Macbook Air was launched earlier this year at MacWorld. Apple CEO Steve Jobs surprised fans with the launch of what the company claimed is the world's thinnest and lightest notebook. Measuring 0.16-0.76 inches, it weighs about 3 pounds (1.36 kg).

Sporting a silvery finish, it features 13.3-inch LED backlit widescreen with a 1280 x 800 pixel resolution and a full-size keyboard.

Air is powered by 1.6GHz or 1.8GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, with 4 MB on-chip shared L2 cache running at full processor speed and uses an 800MHz front side bus. The Core 2 Duo chip is custom-built by Intel to fit within the compact dimensions of MacBook Air.

The notebook comes with 2GB RAM and 80 GB hard drive. The hard drive is a Parallel ATA (PATA) model that operates at 4200 RPM. However, MacBook Air's thinness leaves no room for an Ethernet jack, a removable battery and a built-in DVD drive.

The notebook's peripheral connections include a single USB port, an audio out port and a micro-DVI port, and no modem. Also, it doesn't ship with an optical drive.

MacBook Air's installed software include Mac OS X v10.5 Leopard (includes Time Machine, Quick Look, Spaces, Spotlight, Dashboard, Mail, iChat, Safari, Address Book, QuickTime, iCal, DVD Player, Photo Booth, Front Row, Xcode Developer Tools).

Apple MacBook Air launch was closely followed by Chinese IT giant Lenovo. The company launched Lenovo ThinkPad X300 weighing just 2.93 pounds (1.32 kg), marginally less than Apple Air's 3 pounds (1.36 kg).

ThinkPad X300 measures 0.73 inches at its thinnest point and 0.92 inches at its thickest point. Featuring a broad display, X300 has a full-size keyboard and boasts of a 13.3 inch LED backlit display and an optical drive.

X300 is powered by Intel's Core 2 Duo SL7100 LV low-voltage chip, operating at 1.2GHz and comes with 1GB RAM and 64GB SSD. The laptop comes with GPS-locator and is WiMax-ready. Lenovo X300 comes bundled with standard Microsoft windows XP or Vista professional operating system.

Environment friendly, ThinkPad X300 is the first Lenovo notebook to be rated EPEAT Gold for it low energy consumption. It also meets the European Union's Reduction of Hazardous Substances standards. The company also claims that the notebook consumes 25 per cent less energy than previous X Series models.

The computer giant HP's light-weight contender is EliteBook 2530p. Weighing 3.2 pounds (1.45 kg), the notebook comes with a 12.1 inch LCD with 1280x800 display.

It offers support for SATA DVD+/-RW writer, SD card slot, Bluetooth, WiFi and 2 megapixel Webcam with Business Card Reader software.

HP EliteBook 2530p is powered by Core 2 Duo ULV 1.2GHz or Core 2 Duo LV 1.83GHz, up to 4GB of DDR2 RAM, up to 160GB hard drive or 80GB SSD and the integrated GMA 4500 HD video card.

The HP EliteBook 2530p offers the choice of an ultra-small 1.8-inch hard drive with a built-in optical drive or a higher-capacity 2.5-inch hard drive.

Dell recently refreshed its Latitude series with the launch of ultra-portable low-weight laptops.

The 12.1 inch E4200 Latitude weighs 2.2 pounds (0.99 kg), making it the lightest Latitude laptop ever. It is also Dell's first commercial lightest laptop till date.

However, laptop's biggest feature is not just its light weight, but the long battery life. E4200 supports up to 19 hours battery life. This has been made possible with the combination of an optional nine-cell battery and a battery slice that fits to the bottom of the laptop.

The ultra-portable E4200 features a 12-inch display and is available in shades of Quartz Pink, Regatta Blue and Regal Red. The company is pursuing its Green initiatives as the E4200 packs halogen-free laminates, plastics, fan housings and chassis.

E4200 features a 1.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, up to 5GB of RAM and a choice of SSDs. The notebook also packs LED backlit keyboard, WiMax and GPS.

The PC maker has also launched a 3 pound laptop E4300. With 13.3-inch display, the notebook is powered by Intel processor, packs up to 5GB of RAM, and up to 250GB of HDD. It also has WiFi, Bluetooth and GPS support.

Here's another sub-3 pound laptop, this time from the Korean electronic maker Samsung. The company's recently-unveiled X360 weighs a mere 2.8 pounds (1.27 kg). This makes Apple Macbook Air 90 grams heavier than Samsung X360.

Taking a direct hit at MacBook Air, the tagline for Samsung X360 says "Lighter than Air." The notebook also challenges Lenovo's ThinkPad X300 which weighs 2.93 pounds.

With 13.3-inch WXGA (1280x800) LCD screen, Samsung X360 is powered by Intel Centrino 2 ultra-low voltage processor. Equipped with DDR3 1066MHz 1GB memory, expandable up to 4GB, the laptop packs an external DVD super multi-dual layer writer. It has three USB ports, a built-in HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) connection, 34mm express card slot and VGA output.

It is also equipped with a 7-in-1 memory card reader, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR (Enhanced Data Rate), 802.11n wireless technology and 10/100/1000 Ethernet LAN connection.

With 1.3 megapixel digital motion camera, it supports videoconferencing and live messaging features. It has a removable six-cell battery that ensures up to 10 hours of continuous use. To ensure data protection, the laptop has biometric fingerprint and platform module authentication system.

The notebook will be available from September in some European countries and also in Russia, China and Hong Kong. However, the company did not reveal any pricing details.

Toshiba too offers a range of ultra-thin laptops. One of these is Toshiba R500-S5007V. Giving tough challenge to MacBook Air, which weighs 1.36 kg, the notebook weighs 2.4 pounds (1 kg).

Measuring 0.77 inch at its thinnest point, the notebook has 12.1 inch LCD display with screen resolution of 1280 x 800.

It comes bundled with Core 2 Duo processors at 1.7 GHz, Intel GMA graphics, 2 GB RAM, 120GB hard disk drive, 128GB SSD and optical drive. It also packs Wi-Fi 802.11 a/g/n, Ethernet and Bluetooth 2.0. Toshiba claims it has support for up to 7.5 hours battery life from a single charge.

Taiwan-based computer manufacturer, Asus, launched its second-generation Eee PC series in India.

The company, which partners Intel and Microsoft, rolled out Eee PC 1000H and Eee PC 904H. Powered by Intel Atom processor, Eee PC 1000H weighs 1.45 kg. Featuring 10 inch screen display, the notebook boasts of battery life of up to five hours. It has Dolby Sound Room and built-in Bluetooth.

Targeted at users with basic computing needs, the laptop has a 1.3 megapixel webcam with wireless Internet connection.

Another light weight contender from Asus is Eee PC 904H, weighing 1.4 kg. It features a 8.9 inch screen, 1024X600 resolution display and hybrid engine that supports battery life of up to 4.5 hours.

Both the notebooks come pre-installed with Windows XP, ASUS Super Hybrid Engine, Wi-Fi 802.11b/g, Wi-Fi 802.11n and 80 GB SATA hard disk drive.

The Chinese PC maker Lenovo seems all out against Apple in this battle for thin laptops. The company recently announced a successor to its ThinkPad X300, ThinkPad X301. With 13.3-inch LED backlit display, the notebook weighs less than three pounds.

ThinkPad X301 comes with 1.2GHz Intel U9300 and 1.4GHz U9400 CPUs, both having 6MB L2 cache and 1066MHz FSB.

The notebook boast of nearly 20 per cent better performance than its predecessor. Thanks to the latest DDR3 memory and Intel Core 2 Duo ultra-low volt processor.

For wireless connectivity, ThinkPad X301 offers high-speed mobile broadband, WiFi, Bluetooth and Ultra-Wideband technology to connect wirelessly to other devices.