Ultrabook recommendations, please

Tom Dunne

Doing a PhD and travel a lot, so looking for an Ultrabook. Comfortable keyboard and decent screen are priority, with long battery life. Possibly looking for 8Gb machine with an SSD, but this is not a deal breaker.

Budget - in the region of 1500 Euro, but that is probably the absolute upper limit.

Asus seem to be the dog's proverbials, Samsung seem to bet getting a bit of a slating, I don't really think I want a Lenovo. Not quite sure why (always had an IBM laptop, back in the day, so I know they are well built).

Any thoughts or recommendations?

Kavrocks

I'm in a similar situation to yourself with a PhD and travel but I also need a lot of computing power.

I've spent a lot of time researching laptops from all the good manufacturers and have decided on a Dell XPS 15. The model I am going for is currently €1,549 but Dell have a discount code (0GKF4V50B0S7MR) for €150 off until 19th November which will bring it in line with your budget.

The only thing that model is missing from your specs is an SSD which is another €250.

ED E

Yoga pro 3, hands down IMO.

avalon68

Not sure if you need to stick with windows, but if not, then a macbook pro might be a good choice. The retina ones are very light and portable, and the battery life is usually excellent. I have one thats a good few years old now....prob about 5years and I still get about 6h of battery life out of it (not a retina one....but the newer models have an even better battery than mine). They run windows pretty seamlessly too if you need it for anything.

looking_around

pcspecialist have some nice ultranotes, if you want something you can configure yourself. http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/form-view/ultraNoteII-15/UltraNote-IPS-900/

Tom Dunne

avalon68 wrote: »

Not sure if you need to stick with windows, but if not, then a macbook pro might be a good choice. The retina ones are very light and portable, and the battery life is usually excellent. I have one thats a good few years old now....prob about 5years and I still get about 6h of battery life out of it (not a retina one....but the newer models have an even better battery than mine). They run windows pretty seamlessly too if you need it for anything.

I had a MacBook for a while and just didn't like the OS. I don't know what it was, but it just didn't click with me.

Maybe it was because I was grappling with Xcode at the time.

I'm swaying towards the Samsung Activ 9 - http://www.samsung.com/global/ativ/ativbook9plus.html

Let's not beat about the bush here - I like it because it looks good, nothing more.

Not sure if these things can be bought in Ireland yet, though. The UK site is saying they are not available.

Alanstrainor

Tom Dunne wrote: »

I had a MacBook for a while and just didn't like the OS. I don't know what it was, but it just didn't click with me.

Maybe it was because I was grappling with Xcode at the time.

I'm swaying towards the Samsung Activ 9 - http://www.samsung.com/global/ativ/ativbook9plus.html

Let's not beat about the bush here - I like it because it looks good, nothing more.

Not sure if these things can be bought in Ireland yet, though. The UK site is saying they are not available.

Just thought I'd chime in on the Asus front. I bought a Asus UX32a a year and a half ago (maybe longer...), and for similar reasons, looked amazing and was as slim as a MacBook air with good spec for the time. It's a lovely piece of kit, looks the business, has a nice keyboard. But the main issue for me, is terrible drivers for Windows (both 7 and 8...) the touchpad drivers take an age to load the multitouch on boot or wakeup, the keyboard backlight is sporadic in actually lighting (I'm certain this is not a hardware issue...) and generally any Asus drivers for it are a complete and utter disaster. Ruins what should have been a beauty of a laptop.

I still use it, but I can't ever enjoy it, or feel like it actually works. Yes my complaints are niggles, but they're big ones, and would stop me from buying Asus again. That is until Windows streamlines touchpad drivers as part of the OS, rather than lettings manufacturers butcher them.

avalon68

Tom Dunne wrote: »

I had a MacBook for a while and just didn't like the OS. I don't know what it was, but it just didn't click with me.

Maybe it was because I was grappling with Xcode at the time.

I'm swaying towards the Samsung Activ 9 - http://www.samsung.com/global/ativ/ativbook9plus.html

Let's not beat about the bush here - I like it because it looks good, nothing more.

Not sure if these things can be bought in Ireland yet, though. The UK site is saying they are not available.

The person that sits beside me at work has one of these - looks pretty nice. Definitely does not get anywhere near 11 h of battery though. Its nice and light for traveling. It also has windows 8.....but I guess most things do now.....a major downside as far as Im concerned! I wasnt a big fan of the touchpad on it, but that may just be more of a windows 8 thing really.

Tom Dunne

avalon68 wrote: »

The person that sits beside me at work has one of these - looks pretty nice. Definitely does not get anywhere near 11 h of battery though. Its nice and light for traveling. It also has windows 8.....but I guess most things do now.....a major downside as far as Im concerned! I wasnt a big fan of the touchpad on it, but that may just be more of a windows 8 thing really.

Any idea where he/she purchased it?

avalon68

Amazon I think. Based in the UK, so not sure if its available in Ireland through there or not.

Taltos

Tom for that money you have a few options

Mac Air 13", similar specs but at just under 1500 Euro, bit of a difference.
Mac Pro 13", similar but i5, instead of i7 at 1550E
Toshiba Kira in Harvey Normans, similar spec again around 1500E
Acer Aspire S7 from Amazon - similar spec, same price. From reading on it the fan can be loud though, possibly due to intake/outflow design
Acer Aspire S7 with i5, PCWorld for 1500 E. See above.
PCSpecialist, their Fusion-T appears nice, you can spec it up to the above for around 1400, but talking to folk in work, they are concerned at the build quality and the repeat of manufacture, especially as for the example the better IC Paste is an "extra".

FWIW I am in a similar boat to you, so have been watching your progress here. If I come across anything else will let you know.

Tom Dunne

ED E wrote: »

Yoga pro 3, hands down IMO.

Ding, ding! We have a winner.

That is one incredible machine. Time to get out the credit card, methinks. I am smitten.

Tom Dunne

Just thought I would post an update, should anyone in the future consider a Yoga Pro 3. And no, I couldn't wait until the 25th to open it.

In short, I'm completely smitten.

It's extremely light and portable, something that was critical to me as I move around a lot. The keyboard (on which I am typing this at the moment) is particularly good. Not a lot of travel, but I think sufficient for extended periods of typing, plus an excellent backlight option.

The screen as is you would expect from a premium device, with the touchscreen being quite responsive. I've actually noticed I am using my Samsung Note 12.2 less and less as all the apps for the tab are now available for Windows 8.1 touch. I have experienced some issues with the device not noticing which mode I have flipped it into, but that is generally sorted by repeating the flipping process. Not sure if this is a general issue with the device or my unfamiliarity with it, time will tell.

I played around with one or two of the recipe apps - you can put the device in "tent" mode (upside down V) and use hand gestures to advance the recipe steps. Initially I thought it was a bit of a gimmick, but as my tab has ended up covered in flour on occasion before, this might actually be a gimmick that could prove useful.

I charged it once the other day, I'll probably end up charging it for the second time later today/tomorrow. Not at all scientific, but first impressions are that battery life is reasonable.

In terms of performance, well I haven't really taxed it at all. However boot up times are pretty impressive (around 5 seconds) and general usage appears pretty snappy. For me battery life will really be the big test.

in summary, a premium device that feels like a premium device. The fact that it goes beyond laptop functionality is, for me, an added bonus and was certainly the swaying factor in my purchasing it.

You may want to keep an eye out on Adverts.ie for an 8-month old Samsung Note 12.2. :pac:

Robbie0013

Hi Tom,

I'm interested to know where you purchased the yoga pro 3 and how much did it set you back? I was looking into purchasing it but was dismayed with how much more expensive it is purchasing from Ireland compared to the US, can't remember exactly but around 600 euro in the difference!

Tom Dunne

Robbie0013 wrote: »

Hi Tom,

I'm interested to know where you purchased the yoga pro 3 and how much did it set you back? I was looking into purchasing it but was dismayed with how much more expensive it is purchasing from Ireland compared to the US, can't remember exactly but around 600 euro in the difference!

I got it through www.komplett.ie for around 1600 Euro.