Written by Christopher Davies

The personal computing and mobile entertainment market has undergone some radical changes over the past few years. Interest in multi-tasking smartphones and touchscreen tablets has increased exponentially thanks to several advances in both hardware and software. As design and mobility become as important as performance, manufacturers find themselves concentrating on laptops and tablets rather than traditional personal computers. So what will ultimately win this tech battle - tablets, laptops or most recently, ultrabooks?

TABLETS

When it comes to tablets, one will struggle to look any further than Apple's hugely dominant iPad. It is hard to believe the original was only released in April 2010, however since then Apple has controlled the market thanks to a sleek design, a cavalcade of applications and more than competent performance. An upgrade a year later also saw a slimmer form, two cameras and double the amount of RAM. With the third incarnation rumoured to arrive imminently, Apple's commanding position looks set to continue.

While others have tried and failed to compete with this landmark device, Amazon's furore into the tablet world caused quite a stir when the online retailer unveiled its Kindle Fire last September. While specification isn't as impressive as the iPad, the Kindle Fire's simple form and user interface coupled with a more than affordable entry price of $199 made the tablet a much sough after product. Even though this price means Amazon are reportedly losing $10 on every Kindle Fire sold, the company will make its money on relevant digital content and related physical goods.

The annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas also gave manufacturers the opportunity to parade their latest tablet offerings. Samsung's Galaxy Tab 7.7 features a larger display compared to the original, an incredibly impressive Super AMOLED Plus screen, 1.4GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, LTE connectivity and easily expandable memory. Toshiba also debuted what it dubbed 'the world's thinnest and lightest' tablet while Fujitsu unveiled a fully waterproof device. Increasingly it seems, manufacturers are having to create unique selling points for their latest tablet to even have a chance of competing.

LAPTOPS (OR SHOULD THAT BE ULTRABOOKS?)

However, tablets still don't satisfy the needs of certain consumers who require a little more performance and practicality. One of the disadvantages of traditional laptops is that they are not as aesthetically desirable when compared to tablets. But with the aforementioned advancements in hardware including smaller, lighter components with high levels of performance, ultrabooks have been increasingly gaining traction.

CES 2012 was dominated by ultrabooks with every manufacturer once again trying to differentiate their offering from the competition. Having coined the term ultrabook in response to the popularity of tablets dominated by rival chip manufacturer ARM, Intel looked to revolutionise the market well before the consumer space has even been fully established. Even though it was more a vision of the future, Intel's Mooley Eden demonstrated gesture-controlled ultrabooks with built-in tilt sensors and voice-recognition technology. The chip maker says it has more than 75 models in the pipeline this year alone.

In terms of ultrabooks which are currently available or immediately on the horizon, several devices  stood out. The Asus Zenbook UX21E looks set to go toe-to-toe with Apple's Macbook Air in terms of  super-thin design and powerful processing. Measuring just 9mm at the back, 3mm at the front with an Intel Core i5 processor and 11.6-inch screen, the Zenbook is one of the most competitive on the market today. On the business side of things, Samsung's 9 Series notebook is extremely portable, has a great battery life and packs a powerful processing punch, making it ideal for the regular traveller.

TABLET AND ULTRABOOK COMBINED

If you still cannot make your mind up, both Asus and Lenovo have come up with ingenious solutions. The Asus Transformer Prime strictly speaking is a tablet, however the device features a removable keyboard. Multiple input methods including a QWERTY keyboard, touchpad and touchscreen ensures maximum efficiency for the user. In addition to the built-in memory, a USB drive, Micro SD card slot and one years free ASUS webstorage also adds to the device's flexibility.

Lenovo's answer to this particular conundrum is the IdeaPad Yoga, a complete laptop/tablet hybrid. Featuring a screen which acts like a normal laptop but then folds all the way back on itself to function as a tablet, the user truly has the best of both worlds. While it might be slightly thicker than most ultrabooks, Lenovo's latest innovation has certainly addressed a gap in the market.

So it seems with the PC market in decline, consumer electronics manufacturers have wasted no time in coming up with a cavalcade of more than capable alternatives. Whether you decide upon an ultrabook, tablet or a device which can act as both, the age-old personal computer doesn't look like making a comeback anytime soon.

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