{"id":11951,"date":"2011-12-21T18:08:00","date_gmt":"2011-12-21T18:08:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aidanfinn.com\/?p=11951"},"modified":"2011-12-21T18:08:00","modified_gmt":"2011-12-21T18:08:00","slug":"the-ultrabook-a-windows-laptop-to-match-the-macbook-air","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aidanfinn.com\/?p=11951","title":{"rendered":"The Ultrabook \u2013 A Windows Laptop To Match The MacBook Air"},"content":{"rendered":"

Let\u2019s face it, the MacBook Air is a sexy wee thing compared to the usual Windows laptop.\u00a0 It\u2019s slim, it\u2019s light, it\u2019s got long battery life, and it\u2019s airline carry on baggage friendly.\u00a0 Yes you can run Windows 7 on one of those, but it\u2019s a pricey way to go, and I guess there would be complexity issuesif you needed a h\/w repair (I really don\u2019t know).<\/p>\n

Until recently we haven\u2019t had a true Windows laptop alternative to compete with the MacBook Air.\u00a0 That changed this year with Intel\u2019s Ultrabook standard.\u00a0 The one I\u2019ve gotten to see is the Toshiba Z83X<\/a><\/em> (disclaimer: at work we distribute Toshiba and Sony mobile devices).\u00a0 This 13.3\u201d machine comes with i3, i5 or i& CPUs, 128 GB SSD, USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 ports and HDMI video output.\u00a0 And, it is as thin and light as a MacBook Air.\u00a0 It\u2019s a native Windows machine, and it\u2019s cheaper than a MacBook Air.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Toshiba Z83X<\/em><\/p>\n

Reviews<\/a> have been good on that machine, giving a balance between power (claimed up to 7 hours), battery life, and price.<\/p>\n

I like the look of the Acer Aspire S3 Ultrabook<\/a> too.\u00a0 The S3-951-6828 has an i5 CPU, 4 GB RAM, and a 240 GB SSD.\u00a0 There is also a claim of up to 7 hours battery life, possibly enough to do a transatlantic hop without charging.<\/p>\n

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Reviews<\/a> have been mixed on the S3, but it comes with a nice spec at a competitive price.<\/p>\n

If you want to go nuts then have a look at the ASUS UX31 Zenbook<\/a>.\u00a0 This has an i7 CPU, 4 GB RAM, and a 256 GB SSD, but all this comes at a higher price.<\/p>\n

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The reviews<\/a> has been flattering for this machine, but it is more expensive than the previous machines.<\/p>\n

Most people have not heard of Ultrabooks yet.\u00a0 And they haven\u2019t sold all that well either.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 Well, in Ireland, they are typically starting at around \u20ac1200 for an i5 machine with a 128 GB SSD.\u00a0 Without any scientific searching, I can get a normal i5 laptop with a 500 GB traditional drive for under \u20ac600.\u00a0 So the Ultrabook loses on price.<\/p>\n

And when a person is paying \u20ac1200 or more for a laptop, then they\u2019re probably looking at a MaxBook Air.\u00a0 Apple products have a certain prestige that Windows machines do not.\u00a0 It\u2019s more of a fashion statement than anything else.\u00a0 The person with more disposable cash wants the trendy item, and they see a Windows Ultrabook as being an overpriced laptop, even if the Ultrabook is the same, if not more, is more manageable in the business, and has more\/cheaper software available for it.<\/p>\n

I think the future for the Ultrabook is not good if the prices don\u2019t come down.\u00a0 That might happen after the new year (2012) when they are no longer as new as they once were.\u00a0 I certainly would stump up the cash for one if the price came down so I could tuck it into my carry on camera bag and not have to hide a traditional laptop in my check-in bag (my camera bag is rather large and full with camera gear).<\/p>\n

EDIT:<\/p>\n

One of the guys in work gave me a demo Sony Vaio VPCZ21M9E to play with for a little while.\u00a0 Carbon fibre body, i5 CPU, 4 GB RAM (expandable at order time to 8 GB), 128 GB SSD, 1.2 KG weight, VGA and full HDMI video output, USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 ports.\u00a0\u00a0 It feels incredibly light.\u00a0 Apparently it is 17 mm at the thickest point.\u00a0 Looking at it, I think they are including the rubber feet.\u00a0 This thing is so thin you could shave with it.\u00a0 However, it appears to be twice the price of the competition.\u00a0 But is a very nice piece of kit and it hurt to give it back.<\/p>\n

Technorati Tags: Hardware<\/a>,Windows 7<\/a><\/div>\n
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Let\u2019s face it, the MacBook Air is a sexy wee thing compared to the usual Windows laptop.\u00a0 It\u2019s slim, it\u2019s light, it\u2019s got long battery life, and it\u2019s airline carry on baggage friendly.\u00a0 Yes you can run Windows 7 on one of those, but it\u2019s a pricey way to go, and I guess there would … Continue reading “The Ultrabook \u2013 A Windows Laptop To Match The MacBook Air”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[180,108],"class_list":["post-11951","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-hardware","tag-hardware","tag-windows-7"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t