Ultrabooks - what is the point?

[jihe]

Don't get me wrong, I like my laptop as light as possible. But what is the obsession with thinness? You give up a better keyboard, better cooling, probably a few ports, and definitely a wad of cash. The thickness of a laptop never really bother me at all. Most people do not need to mail their laptop in an envelope.

 

[Phynaz]

I can only assume you have seen one in person.

 

[Zap]

Maybe the point is to steal back sales from tablets? Tablet with a keyboard? IDK.

 

[Pardus]

Just got a HP dm1z, looks very nice, except it arrived with a busted screen. The UPS guy must of had barballs on top of it. The box was crushed like an elephant sat on it. The keys were depressed into the screen, crazy amount of force and the screen was cracked vertically.

HP is sending out replacement, hoping to do a review on it and post it here when it get it.

The point of ultrabooks is portability.

 

[frostedflakes]

Maybe the point is to steal back sales from tablets? Tablet with a keyboard? IDK.

Bingo. That's why Intel's pushing the form factor at least, they see it as a way to fight off tablets and ARM by offering consumers a product that is extremely light, thin, and portable like a tablet but is also more functional (has a physical keyboard, more capable CPU and GPU, fewer I/O ports than thicker laptops but more than tablets generally offer, etc.).

 

[Sunburn74]

If you really think 95% of people who buy laptops give a rip about cooling and port selection, think again.

 

[Tom]

ultrabooks is a marketing word, you don't have to buy into it if you don't want to.

 

[nitrousninja]

It depends on which you buy and what you want.

I bought the 13.3 I5 Zenbook witht he 128GB SSD. For $1K I got:

Solid construction. It doesnt flex or creak when i pick it up from the corner.

Closest to an Apple trackpad I've ever used.

light and small. I tend to have a lot of crap with me when i travel. size matters.

Higher resolution screen than is typically available in a sub 14" screen.

the speakers are better than any laptop I've owned to date.

Its fast and powerful for what i need it for. It stays super cool.

It looks great. I have a hard time buying ugly stuff.


Ultrabooks arent for everyone but there are some of us out there that want them.

 

[Red Storm]

Thin/light laptops look nicer, and they're easier and more comfortable to carry around. That's really all there is to it, and that's a good enough reason for people to want one.

 

[a15g]

To be honest, though these UltradeBooks are nice. I wouldn't cash out $1k + for one, i'd go for a MacBook Air. IMO.

It really just depends on what you want to do with the damn thing.

 

[alent1234]

over a decade ago these things were called sub notebooks and were loved by PHB types who traveled a lot. as long as it was light and did email they loved it.

MBA took it to the next level with SSD which improved performance and battery life for reading email on long flights. although i think the ipad is better.

now everyone is wanting a piece of the pie

 

[Puddle Jumper]

over a decade ago these things were called sub notebooks and were loved by PHB types who traveled a lot. as long as it was light and did email they loved it.

MBA took it to the next level with SSD which improved performance and battery life for reading email on long flights. although i think the ipad is better.

The Macbook Air wasn't the first ultraportable to have a SSD. Plus the Macbookr Air's battery life is still very poor compared to something like a Thinkpad X220.

 

[alent1234]

how do you get support for the x220 on a business trip away from your help desk? can you go to the apple store? and the MBA is thinner and lighter. one small bag means no having to wait for luggage after your flight

 

[paperwastage]

how do you get support for the x220 on a business trip away from your help desk? can you go to the apple store?

if you have a laptop problem on a business trip, would you be spending time sitting at an apple store waiting for them to (hopefully) diagnose and fix your problem? prolly not...

if you are on an extended business trip, Lenovo offers priority NBD onsite warranty...

think apple offers some NBD onsite support too? in some locations?
http://www.apple.com/support/products/premium/onsite.html

how do you get support for the x220 on a business trip away from your help desk? can you go to the apple store? and the MBA is thinner and lighter. one small bag means no having to wait for luggage after your flight

the x220 has a optional battery dock, for up to 20 hours battery life.... one small addon for those executives that have to be mobile and cant find a power plug anywhere?....

different options, cater to different people.... though I would consider the x220 to be just the maximum for my "ultrabook" category

Arstechnica article: "ultra" in name only, failures of Intel;s ultrabook rules
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/news...ly-the-failures-of-intels-ultrabook-rules.ars

 

[Puddle Jumper]

how do you get support for the x220 on a business trip away from your help desk? can you go to the apple store? and the MBA is thinner and lighter. one small bag means no having to wait for luggage after your flight

If you have to go to a store for support you have already failed.

The x220 is not that much larger than the Macbook air and still weighs under 4lbs even with the 9 cell battery. If you can carry on the Air you can do the same with the x220.

I've worked for 10 hours away from an outlet on my x220 several times. If I wanted to do that with a Macbook Air I would need two of them, so much for being thinner and lighter. You completely ignore the massive difference in battery life between the two even though that is far more important than how thin a laptop is when it comes to getting work done on the go.

 

[alent1234]

are executives really going to be away from electricity? most MD's and higher i've met want thin and light over everything else

 

[RU482]

Ultrabooks - what is the point?

I take it you've never lugged a 5 or 6 lb laptop around multiple airports.
/hint, it sucks

 

[Sunburn74]

I take it you've never lugged a 5 or 6 lb laptop around multiple airports.
/hint, it sucks

Totally agree. And having to fight for a power outlet in the airport is just as big of a pain.

 

[Puddle Jumper]

are executives really going to be away from electricity? most MD's and higher i've met want thin and light over everything else

Away from electricity, no. Away from a convenient place to keep their laptop plugged in, absolutely.

You also have to take into account that the Air is less portable when you are lugging the charger around with it while the x220 won't need a charger as often.