Ultraportable Ultrabook laptops perform well in our tests

Consumer Reports has just completed our first tests of laptops either based on or modeled along the lines of Intel's Ultrabook design. These laptops are said to be thinner and lighter and have better battery life than previous models—the better for Windows-based laptops to compete with the sleek Apple MacBook Air.

The three 13-inch Ultrabook models fared well in our tests. The Samsung NP900X3A-B01UB, $1,200, and Asus Zenbook UX31-RSL8, $1050, performed pretty much on a par with the Apple MacBook Air 13-inch, which sells for $1,300. The Acer Aspire S3-951-6646 didn't perform quite as well, but it was still very good overall. And at $900,it's a lot less expensive than the MacBook Air.

For more details on how these three performed, including battery life and display quality, see our new computer Ratings (available to subscribers), which include more than 30 new laptops, desktops, and netbooks.

—Jeffrey Fox