The basic definition for Ultra Portable is a notebook that weighs less than 4 lbs. If you really dig into what Ultra Portable is than you will find that it is a subnotebook, a little above a netbook but smaller and lighter than a notebook. Netbooks are often below 3 lbs where most notebook weigh in close to 6 lbs.
The easiest way to cut weight is remove the stuff you don’t really need. I have noticed, in the two and a half years that I have had this laptop, that I never use the optical drive. This is good because all ultra portables come without an optical drive. Most netbooks have a screen of 10.1″ or smaller (some these days are going to 12″ which I find to big for a netbook). Ultra portables have a screen ranging any were from 10.1″ – 14″ with 14″ being kinda on the big side if you ask me.
If you look at resources of a netbook they usually have a Intel Atom processor. The ultra-portable comes with a wide range of processors. Ranging from Atom to I3-I7 and several other Intel and AMD processors. Memory for netbooks is 1GB-2GB maximum where ultra portable can go up to 8GB’s of memory.
The price range for netbooks is usually below $400 although you could find netbooks that cost a lot more. Ultra portables start at $390 and go up from there. I have seen $2500 dollar ultra’s. When choosing a netbook or ultra-portable it really al comes down to what fits your needs, what are you planing to do with it? More on this later as I try to find my perfect fit, I know it will be ultra portable.