Toshiba Portégé Z835
Best for: The grad student
Its base model comes with a slightly slower Intel Core i3 processor (most ultrabooks run i5 or higher). But this model weighs less than three pounds and still offers such goodies as a 128GB solid-state hard drive (like a big version of a camera’s SD card), a lit keyboard, and both USB 3.0 and HDMI ports, setting it apart from other thin laptops.