Ultraportables

gropingmantis · 22 Aug 2011 at 12:53

I am currently in the market for an ultraportable notebook. Not interested in netbooks as I find the keyboard and screen just too small. So I have been looking at 13" thin light notebooks but I am totally lost and confused.

Ultimate power is not necessary as it will be used for doing work and using the internet whilst away from home so being able to watch HD video would be nice and a decent battery life is very important. Also 3g would be an major added bonus.

So far the only one I have found that fits my specifications is the Lenovo Thinkpad X1 but at £1000 it is a touch out of my budget. Ideally I want to be around the £600-800 mark. I guess I could save a little longer for the X1 but I am not sure what is on the horizon that may be out before Christmas.

wyatt gates · 22 Aug 2011 at 18:35

I have just got Sony Vaio s series

very pleased with it was £900 and it is very capable.

Scrutinize · 22 Aug 2011 at 21:31

HP ProBook 4320/4330 13" come in at 2kgs and are good value but if you want any more portable, you will have to pay for it which means the X1 or something like the MBA.

Vaio S are also nice enough but the VPCS13L8E/B i3 380m can be had for £590 which is £290 more than the slightly better specced ProBook 4320s at the moment. the VPCSB1V9E i5 is £900 ish and probably on the money.

gropingmantis · 22 Aug 2011 at 22:22

Ah thanks mrk1@1. What is the build quality like on the HPs and Vaios? I need something a bit rugged as I am hardly the most careful person when it comes to my technology.

whitecrook · 22 Aug 2011 at 22:25

you could go for an older thinkpad - X61 or does it have to be new?

gropingmantis · 22 Aug 2011 at 22:44

whitecrook said:
you could go for an older thinkpad - X61 or does it have to be new?

Doesn't have to be a new model but I would be hesitant about buying a notebook secondhand unless it was BNIB.

wyatt gates · 22 Aug 2011 at 23:32

The body of Vaio is good but the lid is quite light the hinge is large that is where they made some savings on the weight of it
The best thing is check it out at shop.

wyatt gates · 22 Aug 2011 at 23:38

I amended my post to make more sense lol

Deleted member 77746 · 23 Aug 2011 at 22:13

gropingmantis · 23 Aug 2011 at 22:38

iDroid84 said:
MBA?

Yes I think I will save up and that leaves me between the MBA and the X1. I will be running Linux as the OS on whatever I get so it comes down to toughness and battery life really.

Scrutinize · 24 Aug 2011 at 10:48

gropingmantis said:
Ah thanks mrk1@1. What is the build quality like on the HPs and Vaios? I need something a bit rugged as I am hardly the most careful person when it comes to my technology.

Realy good, but imo slightly more solid on the HP ProBook but neither are going to fall apart easily.

gropingmantis said:
Yes I think I will save up and that leaves me between the MBA and the X1. I will be running Linux as the OS on whatever I get so it comes down to toughness and battery life really.

MBA is where it is at really and there is no real competition, but you do have to £££ for it. Well worth it though if that is what you wan't. The X1 is also nice, more powerful than the MBA but quite a bit heavier and chunkier, so keep an eye out on the UK lenovo site as they often discount hugely if you buy direct and add in a few extra 10% off codes every so often.

Alternatively, it may be worth looking at the Asus Transformer if it is just for light portable out and about use and you don't need much in the way of technical software productivity like CAD / Adobe CS5. Fraction of the price.

Deleted member 77746 · 24 Aug 2011 at 20:10

How long are you wanting it to not charge it for? As battery life on the MBA isn't huge.

What type of phone do you have? As you could tether for 3G connectivity.

TheVoice · 25 Aug 2011 at 06:52

Dell Vostro V131 looks pretty good, there's a few discount codes going here too:
http://www.dmxdimension.com/dell-uk/vostro-deal-comparison/#vostro-v131

Rapier · 25 Aug 2011 at 11:05

From experience I've found that any mac's not running OSX, admittedly I've not had that much exposure to the air, run well below their quoted battery life.

gropingmantis · 25 Aug 2011 at 11:24

Rapier said:
From experience I've found that any mac's not running OSX, admittedly I've not had that much exposure to the air, run well below their quoted battery life.

even running Linux which is even more lightweight than OSX??

iDroid84 said:
How long are you wanting it to not charge it for? As battery life on the MBA isn't huge.

Something like 8 hours of office/notepad use is the ideal level.

Rapier · 25 Aug 2011 at 12:02

gropingmantis said:
even running Linux which is even more lightweight than OSX??

Yes, OSX was specifically designed around the hardware.

From experience I've found the battery life in Linux distros and Windows to be on par for the MBP. I'm sure the performance of the Air will better though because it does not have dedicated graphics but it's almost certain that it won't match the battery life in OSX. You will be doing well to get more than 6 hours on Linux.

Depending on what your doing I would contemplate running some sort of VM setup if at all possible.

Thinkpads are usually recommended as excellent Linux notebooks.