11" Macbook Air alternatives

englishpremier · 22 Oct 2012 at 16:49

Now that catalyst 12.9 is out, my Aspire One 522 is used for most tasks, which has prompted me to think about getting something a bit more powerful.

I like the look and specs of the 11" Macbook Air, but I've never been a big fan of Apple or IOS, and think it might be a waste to run Linux on it. Plus i'd like something with an SD card reader, since I'll be using it on tour with my DSLR

What are the best alternatives?

I'm not interested in any tablets, they're just not versatile or powerful enough.

dfarrall · 22 Oct 2012 at 17:48

Macbook Pro?
Some great photo apps on OS X in general, lightroom or aperature both prime examples. Has an inbuilt SD card reader. Depending on what your using linux for you may be able to do it inside OS X anyway.

englishpremier · 22 Oct 2012 at 18:20

Too large. Too expensive :-(

I'm loathe to go 11", but 10" seems pretty dead. It'll be carried around a lot on my motorcycle and used on my European, and eventually world tour. 10-11" just goes nicely inside my tank bag and usually offers a nice balance between battery power, and size.

I use Darktable in Linux for photos, though could convert to other programs. I just prefer the look and feel of Linux. I used to have to use OSX at work, though that was an ageing system at the time.

Budget around £800.

GeX · 23 Oct 2012 at 15:50

When did you last use OSX? Things have changed in the past couple of versions and freshened it up. I think you're going to struggle to beat the MBA at 11" and £800. Just get the MBA and give OSX another go, if you don't like it - Linux it up a bit.

K.C. Leblanc · 23 Oct 2012 at 16:40

There are now quite a few high quality, highish grunt compact PC laptops about which are quite cleared targeted at the Mac Book Air. They tend to be refereed to as Ultrabooks.

GeX · 23 Oct 2012 at 16:48

Care to suggest a few, 11" - I had a quick look and didn't come up with much for £800!

Amp34 · 24 Oct 2012 at 20:39

Asus UX21 is the only one I can think of off hand, not sure that is less than £800 though...

kristmace · 24 Oct 2012 at 21:53

Amp34 said:
Asus UX21 is the only one I can think of off hand, not sure that is less than £800 though...

It should be as I think they only do SandyBridge processors in that model. 13" IvyBridge UX32 was down to £529 recently.

AbsenceJam · 24 Oct 2012 at 22:00

Have you looked at any of the W8 tablet/docking thingy combinations?

Amp34 said:
Asus UX21 is the only one I can think of off hand, not sure that is less than £800 though...

I think that's the only 11" one.

Amp34 · 24 Oct 2012 at 22:07

kristmace said:
It should be as I think they only do SandyBridge processors in that model. 13" IvyBridge UX32 was down to £529 recently.

The 32 was the cheap model.

The UX21 seems to be hovering around the £820 mark depending on where you get it so may be within budget.