Affordable ultraportables?

[slugg]

It seems as though netbooks have taken over the small-and-light laptop market. It's really annoying because I can't get any work done on such an abysmally slow computer. What I need and want is a real laptop, not some slow piece of garbage that can barely pass as a toy. But I also need this thing to be fast, small, light, and have a long battery life.

The only laptop that I seem to be able to find is the Lenovo X series. The X201 seems to be the only <= 12 inch laptop with good specs for under $1000. Dell has an offering at almost $2k and the Sony Vaio Z is also super expensive.

Then there's the MacBook Air. Overpriced and underpowered. No thank you.

I'm not really sure where else to look. CES is around the corner, but I have a feeling there will be little to no interest in true ultraportables. Companies really want to shove this netbook garbage down our throats.

 

[marsbound2024]

Overpriced and overpowered.

Did you mean overpriced and UNDERpowered? Other than that, I know what you mean. Have you looked at ASUS? They have some great ultraportables for around $700-$800. Some are, of course, more expensive.

 

[slugg]

Did you mean overpriced and UNDERpowered? Other than that, I know what you mean. Have you looked at ASUS? They have some great ultraportables for around $700-$800. Some are, of course, more expensive.

Fixed, lol! What do you recommend from Asus?

 

[xSauronx]

ive got an acer 1830t, $600 for the entry level model. 11.6" screen, hdmi out, 1.2ghz i3, next model up gets you an i5 iirc.

i like it, fast enough to do a few things on, but still a tad slow if every now and again. good battery life. build quality is ok, but not great.

the asus u30/35 are worth considering:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4022/holiday-buyers-guide-notebooks/3

you can look for reviews of the lenovo x100, i believe a recent model came out with dual core units, look for reviews.

 

[OS]

i don't think it ever hurts to wait if you don't need right away, laptops will continue to get faster and lighter with time.

that said, I have found the toshiba protege to be interesting, i have seen deals for $700, core i3/i5 cpus, 13.3" screen and it only weighs 3 lbs.

I found that particularly interesting because unless cost is the absolute overriding factor, it makes netbooks almost pointless with more power, bigger screen, same weight and the optical drive is basically free from a weight/size perspective.

 

[corkyg]

Another vote for Toshiba Portege (not Protege.)

 

[Emulex]

the x301 is nice. the 2740/2540p are very rugged (every day with a teenager to school and back - beat the heck up but still rocking out hard).

the recent macbook air has pushed the older models severely in the cheap. $400-600 for a SSD macbook air isn't bad. severely slow? yeah but the best damn looking lightweight for the buck. most of the ultraportables seem to have a case of the ultra-fuglies (ie X301). or too much plastic.

You should be able to drop the ah heck several times without destroying it and get the SSD option - it uses more battery (!!) than the 1.8" drives but definitely makes up for the lack of oomph. plus you can sleep the drive after a few seconds and not have to worry about head crashes when you drop them.

 

[d33pt]

yes, definitely look at the portege's. toshiba has always made good subcompact notebooks.

 

[wirednuts]

the fusion laptops are coming this spring......

 

[CurseTheSky]

The ASUS UL20A, UL30A, or UL30Vt are all good choices. These days you can probably find them for $600 or less, and they're just powerful enough to get the job done. MUCH faster than an Atom-powered netbook. Just be sure to get a model with a dual core processor, such as the SU7300.

Other than that, the newer UL30Jc, UL33XX or UL35XX are good choices, as are the Acer TimelineX series. They'll be more powerful, but also more expensive.

 

[slugg]

the fusion laptops are coming this spring......

Fusion?

 

[gaban]

Fusion?

this
http://techpowerup.com/137661/AMD-Announces-Beginning-of-Fusion-APU-Era.html
it is new cpu or rather apu (accelerated processing unit) which combines both cpu and gpu on one chip thats why it is called fusion. The processors will be used for ultraportables and netbooks. There arent any comprehensive reviews of laptops other than system demo using this chip but it looks promising. It will come out on march and the price will be under 500$.
quoting you

What I need and want is a real laptop, not some slow piece of garbage that can barely pass as a toy

fusion laptop will help you with this, although having a tad lower battery life than atom but it is a lot faster.

 

[Eug]

Since you mentioned Lenovo, take a gander at the Lenovo X120e with Fusion.

Starts <$400. Battery life is decent but not stellar. However, I did start a thread on the HP Fusion one with a longer reported battery life:

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2132739

 

[Zap]

HP Fusion one with a longer reported battery life:

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2132739

Looks like it is coming out early February, with 9+ hour battery life, better than Atom performance + Radeon IGP, 11.6" screen, 3.5 pounds and $450.

 

[sygyzy]

I am not sure what the latest and greatest is but check out the ASUS UL line. I have a UL30VT and I love it. Anytime I read about a new thin and light, I go check the specs and size-wise they are not that much of an improvement. For me, 4 lbs is the max and anything under is a bonus.

Edit: Looks like CurseTheSky has a good roundup.

 

[wirednuts]

seriously the new amd platform is going to crush intels atom line in terms of sales. its better in every way, some ways a lot better (video performance) and the price will compete directly.

amd has said for years they want to dominate the low-end market, and intel was smart to get the atom out as quickly as they did, but amd finally has the guns to fight back.

it will be interesting to see what intel answers with, but at least for 2011 it will be all amd on the netbook side of things.