Where are the laptops? Why is Apple the only company with a brain?

[GTaudiophile]

I mean does it make sense to anyone that APPL makes the best-selling laptops yet no one attempts to copy their formula? I suppose SONY attempted to but they are gone now.

My Sony Vaio is 4+ years old and I still have not found the replacement I want! The closest is the Apple 13.3" MacBook Pro but don't want to enter that ecosystem.

Here it is the "back to school" season and I am just seeing CRAP out there. 1366x768 screens??? What? In 2014? This is what my 2010 laptop has!!!

Why is this so hard to find...

-The latest Core i5U or i7U processor.
-13.3" screen size.
-Minimum Intel HD4400 gfx. Iris or something from AMD or nVidia preferred!
-Minimum 1920x1080 matte IPS monitor.
-Intel AC WiFi
-8GB RAM minimum (with at least one user-accessible expansion slot).
-256 SSD (with ability to upgrade).
-Minimum 6-8 hour battery life under "normal" WiFi use.
-ca. 3 lbs.
-Ultrabook thinness with one standard HDMI port.
-SD card reader.
-USB 3.0.
-Price: ca. $1500 (or less).

 

[Bateluer]

Why is this so hard to find...

-The latest Core i5U or i7U processor.
-13.3" screen size.
-Minimum Intel HD4400 gfx. Iris or something from AMD or nVidia preferred!
-Minimum 1920x1080 matte IPS monitor.
-Intel AC WiFi
-8GB RAM minimum (with at least one user-accessible expansion slot).
-256 SSD (with ability to upgrade).
-Minimum 6-8 hour battery life under "normal" WiFi use.
-ca. 3 lbs.
-Ultrabook thinness with one standard HDMI port.
-SD card reader.
-USB 3.0.
-Price: ca. $1500 (or less).

Look harder.
http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops...01C9:00010CC2:

 

[GTaudiophile]

I forgot to mention that the Yoga2Pro is the closest thing I have found...

-Lacks AC WiFi
-Intel HD 4400 is really the best they can do?

 

[gdansk]

Which Macbook has a matte screen? The units I've had are glossy (and there's even glass panel over a regular panel).

Asus shipped UX31a with 1080p matte screen. Unfortunately the sequel has a glossy screen (as it's a touch screen).

Anyway, look into the UX303ln. Seems to meet most of your requirements.

*The latest Core i5U or i7U processor.
*13.3" screen size.
*Minimum Intel HD4400 gfx. Iris or something from AMD or nVidia preferred! Nvidia GT 840M
-Minimum 1920x1080 matte IPS monitor. It's glossy 3200x1800
-Intel AC WiFi Intel Dual Band AC 7260
*8GB RAM minimum (with at least one user-accessible expansion slot). 12GB with one user-accessible slot
*256 SSD (with ability to upgrade).
*Minimum 6-8 hour battery life under "normal" WiFi use.
*ca. 3 lbs.
*Ultrabook thinness with one standard HDMI port.
*SD card reader.
*USB 3.0.
*Price: ca. $1500 (or less).

 

[GTaudiophile]

Yeah, that ASUS fits the bill.

Would it be a bad idea to format it and put Win7 on it?
I don't think I can switch to Win8.1.

 

[Enigmoid]

I forgot to mention that the Yoga2Pro is the closest thing I have found...

-Lacks AC WiFi
-Intel HD 4400 is really the best they can do?

Well HD 4400 is pretty much standard for a 13" thin and light.

Also 1080p on win 7 with scaling issues? 900p may be better.

 

[Bateluer]

I forgot to mention that the Yoga2Pro is the closest thing I have found...

-Lacks AC WiFi
-Intel HD 4400 is really the best they can do?

For the markets that ~13in ultrabooks are aimed at, the HD4400 IGP is perfectly fine. These aren't gaming machines, after all, even if the HD4400 is a fairly respectable IGP.

 

[Trombe]

Matte is getting harder to find because of touchscreens. rMBP is all glossy too IIRC, and Airs are thus far all TN panels. Matte still exists in some boutique machines but they aren't ultrabook ~3lb weight you're looking for, and the rMBP 13.3 is like 3.5 lbs anyway.

 

[Remobz]

I mean does it make sense to anyone that APPL makes the best-selling laptops yet no one attempts to copy their formula? I suppose SONY attempted to but they are gone now.

My Sony Vaio is 4+ years old and I still have not found the replacement I want! The closest is the Apple 13.3" MacBook Pro but don't want to enter that ecosystem.

Here it is the "back to school" season and I am just seeing CRAP out there. 1366x768 screens??? What? In 2014? This is what my 2010 laptop has!!!

Why is this so hard to find...

-The latest Core i5U or i7U processor.
-13.3" screen size.
-Minimum Intel HD4400 gfx. Iris or something from AMD or nVidia preferred!
-Minimum 1920x1080 matte IPS monitor.
-Intel AC WiFi
-8GB RAM minimum (with at least one user-accessible expansion slot).
-256 SSD (with ability to upgrade).
-Minimum 6-8 hour battery life under "normal" WiFi use.
-ca. 3 lbs.
-Ultrabook thinness with one standard HDMI port.
-SD card reader.
-USB 3.0.
-Price: ca. $1500 (or less).

http://www.amazon.com/Acer-V7-482P-5...productDetails

 

[ninaholic37]

I mean does it make sense to anyone that APPL makes the best-selling laptops yet no one attempts to copy their formula?

When Ultrabooks came out, many people were saying Wintel was trying to copy the Macbook Air. I remember light Windows laptops at a premium didn't work out very well, with a lot of unsold items sitting on store shelves though. I think the line is blurring more now between Ultrabooks and regular laptops, but they still make massive laptops with i7-MQs. I have kind of the opposite opinion as yours, I don't think Windows laptops should have ever tried to copy Apple with their "ultrabooks"... which is what mostly killed off the lovely cheap $200 netbook!

 

[Bateluer]

When Ultrabooks came out, many people were saying Wintel was trying to copy the Macbook Air.

It was the other way around. There were thin and light Windows notebooks well before the Macbook Air became a twinkle in someone's eye.

 

[ninaholic37]

It was the other way around. There were thin and light Windows notebooks well before the Macbook Air became a twinkle in someone's eye.

As I suspected, the Macbook Air came out first (in 2008), Ultrabooks in 2011:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacBook_Air#Specifications
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultrabook#Specifications

I think the name "Ultrabook" was just a spin-off of "Macbook" and the idea was to "charge >$1000" like the Air. But maybe we are talking about different things.

 

[Commodus]

It was the other way around. There were thin and light Windows notebooks well before the Macbook Air became a twinkle in someone's eye.

Not quite.

Yes, ultraportable systems existed well before the Air. However, the problem was that these were almost always huge sacrifices: you got some truly awful ULV chip, a tiny screen and terrible battery life (~2-3 hours was pretty common). The MacBook shook this up with a better-balanced CPU, a normal screen and a decent battery. You were getting a normal laptop that reflected the modern realities of computing, not something you had to settle for. It took a while before the hardware really clicked (that was around the Sandy Bridge-based models), but the original machine from 2008 was a pioneering example.

Remember, Apple actually commissioned Intel to make the Core 2 Duo that went into the inaugural MacBook Air -- in that regard, the entire Ultrabook category owes its existence to Apple. It's no coincidence that Intel's Ultrabook guidelines conveniently started with the rough dimensions of the Air, and that quite a few of them copy Apple's design cues to varying degrees.

 

[gdansk]

Sony TZ, 2007:
11.1" 1366x768, 6 hours battery, 2lbs 10 oz.
The Core 2 Duo U7600 & U9300 were the first ULV Intel products to ship.

Sadly, Sony dropped the Z line a few years back and has since left the market.

 

[GreenMeters]

Yeah, that ASUS fits the bill.

Would it be a bad idea to format it and put Win7 on it?
I don't think I can switch to Win8.1.

Watch out for that UX303LN. There are two main options: glossy 1800p display or matte 1080p display. The 1800p (QHD) has terrible and irresolvable color accuracy issues. The 1080p (FHD) is pretty good. Avoid the QHD model. Unfortunately, different configurations are not available in all regions, so be careful if you go the ASUS route.

 

[Bateluer]

As I suspected, the Macbook Air came out first (in 2008), Ultrabooks in 2011:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacBook_Air#Specifications
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultrabook#Specifications

I think the name "Ultrabook" was just a spin-off of "Macbook" and the idea was to "charge >$1000" like the Air. But maybe we are talking about different things.

You suspected incorrect. The term 'Ultrabook' didn't come around until 2011, but ultraportable laptops existed well before the MBA. Though, as Commodus stated, they came with draw backs. As did the early Air models, for that matter. In fact, Apple lifted the design language for the Air directly from Sony's early ultraportables.

Apple was able to take advantage of newer ULV and more tightly integrated silicon that didn't exist the half decade prior.

Lets not give Apple credit for inventing something that every other major OEM had done years before them.

 

[TeknoBug]

Back to school sales is always the worst time to find a laptop with good specs, stores purposely hide the good ones so parents and students are forced to buy the junky ones so the stores can clear up inventory.

In this particular time, you'll have to put on some spectacles and do some actual searching to find one with good specs and you'll find them or even bug a salesperson about it, I've done this numerous times myself over the years and notice august is the worst time for computer shopping.

And speaking of so, I remember "netbooks" which are now basically Chromebooks.

 

[GTaudiophile]

Well, I don't need to buy now. Before the end of the year would be nice.

I read some reviews on the ASUS and yeah, that screen doesn't fit the bill.

I don't game on my laptop at all. Will something from nVidia/AMD accelerate PhotoShop/Premier work over say the Intel HD 4400?

 

[TeknoBug]

Those with the Intel HD4600 should be more than enough to handle those (you can find a cheap one with an i3 4000M which are still floating out there), or with AMD an 8650G or 8570M (dedicated), or an R6 or higher- maybe 8610G too.

 

[readymix]

HP zbook 14. I have the 15" quad and would rate it as "killer"

 

[HOSED]

The machine in my signature is close to fitting your specs (but battery life is 4 hours max + it weighs 4 pounds) http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Schenker-S413-Clevo-W740SU-Notebook.98313.0.html
Note Clevo W740 is the base for the sager

 

[unbiased]

Apple could make a killing if they start making laptops which run on windows 7 (not the crippled bootcamp or vmware type running) and make them hdd/ssd/ram upgradable. At least I will be first in line. What holds me back from buying a macbook is the mac os.

 

[holden j caufield]

what's higher than 1080p, has 2 ram slots (prefer more), has dedicated mouse buttons?

I've been searching for the perfect laptop for some time. Still haven't found it, currently I own a t420, t61p, t61, t420s, w510, w520, w530, sager 8130, , tecra, hp 2560, 8570w and the one I use most for carrying around my latitude e7240. 1080p and 16gb of ram but I'm limited to 8 or less virtual machines with 16gb of ram which is ok but I'd like 1440 or 1800p 13" with 4 ram slots.

Wouldn't mind staying with the Dell's right now as the wireless dock for me is an amazing feature.

Most upgrades I think are a ripoff but the wilocity wigig dock has been amazing for my work, wireless dock to a 60" screen from my couch is pretty cool. I'm thinking the closest I get is m4800. Maybe buy it and deck it all out and my gf would love for me to get rid of the other laptops.

I prefer a windows 7 host and osx vm vs an apple laptop with a win7 vm.

 

[Ayah]

I've been searching for the perfect laptop for some time. Still haven't found it, currently I own a t420, t61p, t61, t420s, w510, w520, w530, sager 8130, , tecra, hp 2560, 8570w and the one I use most for carrying around my latitude e7240. 1080p and 16gb of ram but I'm limited to 8 or less virtual machines with 16gb of ram which is ok but I'd like 1440 or 1800p 13" with 4 ram slots.

never going to happen. nobody will spin a design that markets to a tiny market like us. 4 slots in 13" is physically (and easily) possible with the removal of the optical drive, but most people (bleh) would rather have ridiculously thin than have a functionally optimal laptop.

 

[mauiblue]

never going to happen. nobody will spin a design that markets to a tiny market like us. 4 slots in 13" is physically (and easily) possible with the removal of the optical drive, but most people (bleh) would rather have ridiculously thin than have a functionally optimal laptop.

I owned my Toshiba Qosmio G35-AV650 laptop for about 8 years and it was a monster of a laptop weighing in about 10 pounds and a 17 inch screen. With my new Levono Ultrabook I'm so excited about the small footprint and weight. Performance is in line with what I use it for and I'm amazed with Windows 8.1 compared to Vista.