What are the best ultrabooks for this Christmas?

[exhashdotdot]

I need a laptop for work and I'm thinking about treating myself this Christmas.

The absolute perfect laptop for me would be the Dell XPS 13 Developer Edition - but unfortunately those don't appear to be made any more and second hand models seem scarce.

What laptops can I expect in that case?

Criteria:

- Small so I can use it on the train and plane.
- 1080p screen preferably
- Intel processor (codes I use are made specifically for intel chips).
- Preferably without Windows

As you can see, the Dell XPS 13 Developer Edition was basically the perfect laptop for me. The Dell XPS 14 seems alright (not too expensive either) - anyone know much about those?

Thank you

 

[daver]

The refresh was only just launched in the US and the news article indicated availability in other countries at the end of the month

http://www.technobuffalo.com/2013/1...ps-13-developer-edition-laptop-available-now/

Dell UK do have a page for it - it just says to contact the sales team for more information

http://www.dell.com/uk/business/p/xps-13-linux/pd

This article suggests end of Nov for uk as well

http://www.slashgear.com/dell-ubunt...uchscreen-unite-in-sputnik-3-laptop-16305679/

 

[ajf]

Admittedly Windows but otherwise the Sony Vaio Pro would fit the bill.
Only concern i have from reviews is overall build but that would only be an issue depending on how you use and store it.

 

[JonJ678]

The samsung series 9 look interesting too. 3200 x 1800 resolution screen and a claimed 12 hours of battery life.

The developer XPS13 is listed as using a "Killer Wireless-N" card which is unlikely to behave as nicely as an intel card under *nix, but otherwise looks reasonable.

 

[Genoma]

I've been round the houses now, was set on the Yoga 2 Pro but the yellow screen issues put me off. I'm taking a shot and see how I get on with the MBA, found the 256GB on offer on the rainforest and will see how I get on with it. Not windows but will run what I need (web, word, excel, Lightroom and PS), HD5000 for some casual light games, incredible battery, good keyboard and probably the best trackpad around. Portability will be great for when we go on holiday, I also wanted something to load my DSLR pics in Lightroom to preview and backup onto a USB HDD on the go, so it fits that bill well.

 

[infernox]

People hate on Apple but they make some quality kit the 13" rMBP is stunning. Glass trackpads are the way forward.

 

[Clipsey]

Been looking at loads of Ultrabooks lately:
My list:
i5
Solid State drive
1920x1080 min.
Minimal weight
Great design
Windows 8
Touchscreen
Great price

Think I've finally found it on Amazon (Black Friday deals)
Acer Aspire S7 13.3"

Anyone have some thoughts?

 

[infernox]

The S7 is a fantastic laptop, you won't be disappointed.

 

[abbotsmike]

I would have considered the S7 if I hadn'd had several horrific experiences with unreliable acer laptops in the past. Was a few years ago now, but once bitten twice shy etc.

I ended up with a samsung series 7 ultra.

i5
6GB RAM
128GB SSD
bit heavy (metal body)
full HD touchscreen

and importantly for me, a proper RJ45 jack!

 

[W!ll]

Any more light on this topic would be great, I'm currently looking for an Ultrabook to carry around while at Uni and help get more work done, have been mainly eyeing up the Sony Vaio Pro.

 

[Fallen god]

People hate on Apple but they make some quality kit the 13" rMBP is stunning. Glass trackpads are the way forward.

This, it might not have the highest pixel screen, or the fastest processor but I feel it is the best all round ultrabook. That is, if not windows includes OSX. If you want to be running Linux then a super hig res display will hold you back as I believe they don't have proper scaling built in, and only with some hacking.

I personally use OSX as it has a unix base to some extent and is stable.

 

[JonJ678]

I've reluctantly come to the conclusion that the 13" macbook is as close to perfect as I'm going to find. I don't expect to like OSX, but it won't kill me to find out.

High resolution, good battery life, SSD, 16gb ram. Good keyboard. Not made out of plastic. The price is bad but not insane.

Linux support is getting there but is realistically incomplete. I'll dual boot until things go wrong, then use a virtual machine.

 

[Fallen god]

I've reluctantly come to the conclusion that the 13" macbook is as close to perfect as I'm going to find. I don't expect to like OSX, but it won't kill me to find out.

High resolution, good battery life, SSD, 16gb ram. Good keyboard. Not made out of plastic. The price is bad but not insane.

Linux support is getting there but is realistically incomplete. I'll dual boot until things go wrong, then use a virtual machine.

With 16GB ram I would recommend just using VM to run Linux, I run Vagrant for dev work which spawns a Debian box and it is fine, this is with 8gb ram.

 

[JonJ678]

That's pretty much the argument in favour of 16gb yeah. The two week delay on it turning up is the argument against. I'm leaning towards buying one off the shelf (don't have it yet) in order to be sure it's here by Christmas.

A big thank you for the word Vagrant - I hadn't heard of the project and it looks wonderful.

 

[Fallen god]

That's pretty much the argument in favour of 16gb yeah. The two week delay on it turning up is the argument against. I'm leaning towards buying one off the shelf (don't have it yet) in order to be sure it's here by Christmas.

A big thank you for the word Vagrant - I hadn't heard of the project and it looks wonderful.

For web development I love Vagrant, It does tend to eat up a bit of ram but it well worth having a box that you can just spin up and have your development environment just there.

I do use it when I'm intending to do more serious work, for quick things I just have a native stack on OSX. You can just install home brew, and from there you can install most things natively.

Finally when I ordered my machine it came form China, it took around 1 week or so, so it could be quick.

 

[abbotsmike]

Any more light on this topic would be great, I'm currently looking for an Ultrabook to carry around while at Uni and help get more work done, have been mainly eyeing up the Sony Vaio Pro.

Go in store to have a play with one first. I was pretty set on the vaio until I actually used one in store. The super light carbon fibre chassis actually just feels really flimsy. Whilst I'm sure it would be fine, and it is very slim and light, it doesn't feel sturdy enough to survive time in a rucksack whilst at uni!

 

[W!ll]

Go in store to have a play with one first. I was pretty set on the vaio until I actually used one in store. The super light carbon fibre chassis actually just feels really flimsy. Whilst I'm sure it would be fine, and it is very slim and light, it doesn't feel sturdy enough to survive time in a rucksack whilst at uni!

I did exactly that and have one on order currently... I'll be getting a sleeve for it and will see how it does i suppose! I'm usually very careful with electronics so here's hoping!

 

[abbotsmike]

I did exactly that and have one on order currently... I'll be getting a sleeve for it and will see how it does i suppose! I'm usually very careful with electronics so here's hoping!

Would be good to hear how you find it. I have no doubt that it is well built, it just didn't reassure me! I also wanted the extra ports. Good shout on the sleeve, I'd never carry a laptop without one, so mine lives inside a crumpler sleeve in my rucksack

 

[W!ll]

Sony Vaio Pro 13 arrived yesterday, going to get used to it and use it for a while then i'll post an update of how i'm finding it.

 

[krnsniper]

Go with the samsung series 7 ultra.