Ask HN: Shall I buy an 'ultrabook' or a MB Air?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3521770

by rayhano • 14 years ago

8 36 14 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

What I really want to know is are there any ultrabooks that can compete with the MacBook Air on the key features:

- size/weight - battery life - quick on (since Lion, instant on is a thing of the past) - SSD (how is this not standard in the feature spec...) - backlit keyboard (incredibly important)

Any suggestions of ones that people have tried/reviewed?

hobin2• 14 years ago

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultrabook

That should answer most of the questions you asked. You can find about the ultrabooks with backlit keyboards by doing a simple Google search (yes, 'ultrabook backlit keyboard').

rayhano15• 14 years ago

Seriously? A wikipedia entry? I was asking for specific experiences and models...

hobin2• 14 years ago

Neither of which I have. ;) And because you asked for information on size/weight and battery life without specifying a specific model, this was the best I could do.

corkill• 14 years ago

I'm tossing up the same thing. I think it pretty much comes down to if you want to use windows or OSX + budget. Specs aren't much different.

rayhano15• 14 years ago

Well this is actually my conundrum.. on paper the specs are not different, but practically it seems they are. I saw three ultrabooks in PC World and only one had an SSD (£900 vs £1100 for MBA).

And the battery life of all of them was claimed as less than that of a MBA.

I REALLY need to replace my laptop, but am in two minds about labouring with it until Windows 8 comes out...

No need to use OS X - there is no software on there that works better with the exception of iTunes (which is possibly the worst well used software ever - any Mac Fanboys complain about Windows, I just need to say iTunes...)

benologist2• 14 years ago

If you don't need OS X then the Sony Vaio Z looks pretty awesome. Biggest differences:

- faster processor

- higher resolution

- their lightpeak or w/e port actually has a kickass accessory that justifies it, there is still nothing interesting available using Thunderbolt

- up to twice the ram

- internal + external battery

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Ultra-mobile-Vaio-Z-with-Power-...

rayhano15• 14 years ago

I would LOVE a Vaio Z - so beautiful, so powerful AND that 1080p resolution screen is to die for...

OK, I'm going to start a kickstarter page for people to sponsor my purchase of a £2000 Vaio Z...

r4vik2• 14 years ago

If you're going to be in the US any time soon I just priced up a Vaio Z top of the line and it came to £1400 quid, did the same on the UK site and it was £2400 quid

kabr• 14 years ago

Keep in mind that the screen illuminates the keyboard in the dark, so a backlit keyboard may be more for aesthetics than functionality. I never use it on my MBA.

Something I don't like about the MacBook Air (13"): Dedicated audio in/out -- there's a "hybrid" jack which annoys me. I thought lack of firewire would be limiting for older drives and external interfaces, but I don't miss it. I do run Windows when I need it for (minor) updates to files in solid modeling programs such as SolidWorks and animation such as Maya while traveling with a VM. Works great.

rayhano15• 14 years ago

I have a very beautiful HP ProBook 5310m but find I have to tilt the screen down every now and then to see the keys (while trying not to disturb my wife watching soaps on the TV...)

How do you find the performance of Windows 7 on the MBA? Does it boot into Windows or do you use Parallels?

benologist2• 14 years ago

I do OSX + Win and OSX + Linux on Parallels most of the time, the only drawback with the Air is there's not enough ram and perhaps not quite enough cpu to do it all at once. A single VM runs fine though.

rayhano15• 14 years ago

So any model recommendations for an ultrabook? Anyone?

whiskers3• 14 years ago

I absolutely love my MacBook Air. I run it exclusively in Lion but have virtual machines for Ubuntu and Windows when I need it.

The build is amazing, the battery life very good for its size, and I really like the keyboard and screen (though that's probably a personal taste choice).

For £1099 (including taxes) I haven't seen anything else that I'd want to swap to.

rayhano15• 14 years ago

What about this Toshiba?

http://reviews.cnet.co.uk/laptops/toshiba-portege-z830-ultra...

eminkel2• 14 years ago

I purchased a Zenbook UX31E on Saturday. I've installed Ubuntu 11.10 alongside Windows 7 for development needs. It's meant to be my mobile development laptop and so far it runs great. Obviously it has some quirks pointed out in reviews but I haven't had any issues I couldn't get past with updated drivers or configuration.

Ubuntu 11.10 is a battery hog, I think I can get about 4 hours out of the battery.

Windows 7 seems to estimate 5-6 hours.

I'd have to do further testing for actual hours on battery for both environments. So far, so good.

soapdog• 14 years ago

I think it depends if you want/need Mac OS X or if you can live happily with the alternatives.

Personally, I think that Mac OS X Snow Leopard is better than Lion but that is just opinion so until Lion grows on me, I will not upgrade to a new machine.

rayhano15• 14 years ago

That's another conundrum - I was in lust with the MacBook Air and it's instant on that I could whip out on UK commuter trains and use as if it was as versatile as an iPad. But Lion makes this less possible... seconds on UK trains seem like much longer...

whiskers3• 14 years ago

I'm using a 2011 Macbook Air that came with Lion and from opening the lid to login prompt takes about a second.

I'd never shut it down fully because the battery life is so good I don't need to!

yaks_hairbrush• 14 years ago

That's about it. I got my 13" MBA in October because I didn't like all the flux going on with the Linux GUIs, and I've not had very good luck picking Linux-compatible laptops.

OS X really fits my role for it well: A UNIX which works (nearly) perfectly on a laptop with a tight and stable GUI.

zefi2• 14 years ago

I have a 13" MBA 2011 w/ lion,just got it after years on a dell Inspiron 1545. It is amazing. Incredibly light, With really really good battery life. So need for an iPad, I have no qualms about carrying it with me, it doesn't weigh that much more than large book. It can power down, restart and be back on my desktop in 15 seconds. Backlit keyboard is great, don't underestimate it for late night projects. Also, I now have nothing on my desktop, Osx file systems are muchore intuitive and multi task orientated. Get an MBA, it's more money but better value than anything else on the market.

zefi2• 14 years ago

*no need for iPad & much more

Stupid iPhone keyboard.

ameen2• 14 years ago

I've struggled with this question myself, and while ultrabooks offer a few hundred dollars of savings, a Macbook Air makes more sense for me(personally) in the long run.

Reasons:

I've started to develop iOS apps, and I need an iOS device and the MBA solves 2 of my problems in a single go. (need for an ultraportable device, a Mac for iOS dev)

rayhano15• 14 years ago

Oh yes, I completely forgot that you need Mac OS to access the iOS SDK... Makes me want to get an Ultrabook just to thumb my nose at evil Apple...

Funny thing is, no one has so far been able to recommend a single make and model apart from the MacBook Air...

rayhano15• 14 years ago

Just noticed that you offer Office Hours to YC companies for UX and design - might you be interested in doing an Open Office Hours for the London hacker community? We keep some events going just to help the community get out and mingle. Some examples here: http://london.flagonsden.com

Let me know if this is something you would be interested in.

Thanks

ameen2• 14 years ago

I'd be happy to help. But currently i'm building a product which is to be launched by Q2 of this year.

Do drop me a mail at ameen.in at google's electronic mail service, I'll get in touch with you if & when I'm free.

rayhano15• 14 years ago

Now we're talking! Check out this laptop http://www.techradar.com/news/mobile-computing/laptops/hands...

kenrik• 14 years ago

I would say go with the Air, build quality is top notch and even if you don't use it everyday having a rock stable UNIX core can come in handy at times.

You might want to wait a bit though the new "Air" Macbook Pros are coming out soon and it's rumored they will have "Retina Displays" - God I hate that term

chmielewski• 14 years ago

If you're going to be installing Linux on it, don't buy the MacBook Air for the hardware. The lack of PageUp/PageDown keys seals the deal. If you are going to install Linux on it, then the MBA shouldn't be a consideration and you should get an ultrabook in your spec/price range. If you want OS X then the MBA would be your best bet.

Ask HN: Shall I buy an 'ultrabook' or a MB Air?

Related Stories