Need help buying a laptop

[stuckless]

I need to get a decent laptop for my wife. We went out looking the other night, and of course, the laptop that she ended up liking the best was the MacBook Air It's a great laptop, and it fits the bill for what I'd want including price, features, and more importantly, size and weight (13" and 3lbs).

But, buying an Apple product goes against my very being... Is there anything else out there that matches the MacBook air in terms of features, size, and weight? I already looked at the Dell Adamo, which are really slick, but they start at $2200 for a laptop that is below the Air specs...

BTW... netbooks with Atom processors are not in the running here... I need a real laptop... And I know that people are going to ask... "but what's she going to run on it..." and I've gone through this, so core2 (or equivalent) is the min specs in terms of cpu. She'll be running itunes, and a bunch of lotus stuff.... in addition to watching video, surfing the net, etc.

Help me wise Sage community... there has to be other alternatives....

[razrsharpe]

I am a very big fan of all things Thinkpad. The T410s (slim) comes close to being everything you want, thin, light, real processor and graphics. It runs about 2k (at least the way i last configured it: ssd, 4 gb ram... etc) but you can get it cheaper. It is a bigger 14 in screen though. I have also heard good things about the X series (smaller, lighter, but still a real processor).

We buy solely thinkpad laptops for work and i have bought thinkpads for myself and my 2 sisters. Everyone says good things about them. I do recommend paying the extra 100 bucks for the 3 warranty (I'd say the same thing about all laptops though).

So I would be looking at the X and T series laptops to see if they fit your bill. I would not recommend Lenovo's Ideapad line... completely different engineering group and crap imho.

link

[bcjenkins]

Can I jump in here too? I was just about to post a thread about a laptop spec which runs Linux without hassle. I have a 17" MacBook pro that I want to trade in for something smaller and Linux.

PS - I hear the Air is due for a refresh soon.

B

[gplasky]

If you're looking for something similar to a Macbook Air specs (I know-not the same) look at this:
Mobile Powerhouse: HP ENVY 14and check out the rest of the units reviewed. But bang for the buck and power this is it.

Basically, this is the most power you can stuff into a 14” chassis. HP’s new Envy 14 has an optional Core i7 quad core processor and the Radeon HD 5650 graphics card in a slim 5.25lb aluminum enclosure, and somehow manages to still retail for a semi-reasonable base price of $1099 ($1349 with the base i7-720Q quad-core).

This is especially impressive because the Envy 14 is fairly thin as well, at a constant 1.1”. The Envy line in general has been well designed, and the 14 is no exception. They’ve also been consistently accused of being clones of the Apple MacBook Pro line, and the Envy 14 doesn’t do a whole lot to change that perception. The two lines do share quite a few design characteristics, including the flat lid with tapering edges, the rectangular shape with filleted corners, flat contours and even surfacing the whole way around, etc. Even things like the backlit, black chiclet keyboard, slot loading DVD drive, sealed in battery (though still removable), and “floating” screen are similar. What was that line about great artists and stealing?

Check out all the reviews. This is a little bigger and heavier and the other units reviewed are closer to the Airbook.

Gerry

[JetreL]

Here you go:

Alienware M11x [slickdeals.net]

$749 Shipped Ordered Directly from Dell w/ Beefy specs

• Intel Core i5 520UM (3M Cache, 1.066 GHz w/ 1.866 GHz Max Turbo Frequency)
• 11.6" Wide HD 1366x768 (720p) WLED
• 4GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 800MHz
• 160GB SATA II 5400 RPM Hard Drive
• 1GB NVIDIA GeForce GT 335M
• Alienware M11x a/b/g/n 2x2 MIMO Wireless
• 1.3MP Web Cam
• Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)

[Brent]

I should be getting a Lenovo X201 sometime next week as my work laptop. I was looking for something with power (for work applications) and portability (for my back) and my work IT likes Lenovo. So the laptop itself will give me about 3lbs as opposed to the current 6lbs of my Lenovo T500 & supposedly has decent battery life.

This is for non-video-intensive work though.


My wife & daughter both have a Dell - the older equivalent to the Studio 15 which I really like and they've been happy with

[stanger89]

Just curious, is there anything out there that can really touch a Macbook Pro's battery life? I mean if I were buying today, personally I'd buy a 17" Macbook Pro. I'm not really an Apple fan, and I suspect I'd end up running Win 7 on it, but it just doesn't seem like you can beat that hardware combo. My friend has a 15" and said it will run 8 hours on the battery. That kills my XPS, even with the 9-cell, giant battery.

[gplasky]

I know the Lenovo X201 with the 9 cell battery does 12 hours. Most of the ones in the review I linked to are doing between 8 to 12 hours with up to 13.2 hours for the ASUS UL80Vt.

Gerry

[stuckless]

I took a look at the lenovo/thinkpads... I'm really like the X201 and I get decent workplace discount on them as well, so it makes it pretty affordable. It's probably more powerful than what my wife needs, but it's small and light, which is very important for her.... since she wants to throw it in her purse (she has a big purse), and the macbook air actually fits, mostly.

Brent, I'd be interested in your opinions of the X201 once you get it in.

I'm about to check out the other links that you guys have sent in... thanks for the great feedback!

[aflat]

Be careful with the HP Envy, the touchpad on them is terrible imho. They tried to rip off the macbook one, and came close, except the "buttons" on the bottom are still part of the trackpad. So if you want to click on something, half the time your cursor moves because the button area is still considered to be trackpad area. I'm sure it can be fixed with a firmware update, but it isn't yet. I returned one of the DV7Ts due to this reason alone. I really liked the rest of the laptop, but this part alone drove me nuts.

[Brent]

Originally Posted by stuckless

Brent, I'd be interested in your opinions of the X201 once you get it in.

I'll report back when it arrives. I have high hopes....

[paulbeers]

Seeing as how my last 3 computers have been Apple (with the exception of my wife's el cheapo HP)...... I will obstain from this conversation as the opinion is to try NOT to go with Apple.

The real problem is the lack of processing power by most laptop manufacturers. They would rather use one of the ultra-low power processors that run at < 1.5ghz.

And Stanger, yes it is true. I get 5+ hours of real battery life on my 13" MBP that is over a year old at this point. It crushes even my old netbook with its gigantic battery and even manages to pull in 4 hours while running Windows XP in Fusion as a Virtual PC while simultaneously doing OSX stuff.

[bcjenkins]

The X201 is on sale on Lenovo's website for $700 off right now.

B

[mayamaniac]

Stuckless, check out the Dell Vostro V13. It is a less expensive version of the Adamo. The specs are not as fast compare to the MacBook Air, but it costs about half the price of the MBA and it is still very thin and light to carry around. This is the laptop I would get for the wife or girlfriend.

Originally Posted by JetreL

Here you go:

Alienware M11x [slickdeals.net]

$749 Shipped Ordered Directly from Dell w/ Beefy specs

• Intel Core i5 520UM (3M Cache, 1.066 GHz w/ 1.866 GHz Max Turbo Frequency)
• 11.6" Wide HD 1366x768 (720p) WLED
• 4GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 800MHz
• 160GB SATA II 5400 RPM Hard Drive
• 1GB NVIDIA GeForce GT 335M
• Alienware M11x a/b/g/n 2x2 MIMO Wireless
• 1.3MP Web Cam
• Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)

I love the MX11 and it is definitely the only laptop I would buy for myself if I need a new laptop right now.

[stuckless]

Originally Posted by mayamaniac

Stuckless, check out the Dell Vostro V13. It is a less expensive version of the Adamo. The specs are not as fast compare to the MacBook Air, but it costs about half the price of the MBA and it is still very thin and light to carry around. This is the laptop I would get for the wife or girlfriend.

Well, this is only one that my wife has looked at and hasn't said, "I really like the Macbook Air", so it's a contender

I tried to convince her to get the X201... but we work on thinkpads everyday, and she doesn't really care for the "look" of the thinkpads Personally, I like the X201.

[bialio]

I just went through the same kind of excersize with my wife - ended up getting a refurb Macbook from Apple - was $850, but you can't beat the battery life (10 hours? what?) and the fit and finish of the unibody.

I promptly installed Win 7 on it when it got here

btl.

[mayamaniac]

Originally Posted by stuckless

Well, this is only one that my wife has looked at and hasn't said, "I really like the Macbook Air", so it's a contender

I tried to convince her to get the X201... but we work on thinkpads everyday, and she doesn't really care for the "look" of the thinkpads Personally, I like the X201.

X201 is great for the guy, but for the ladies, the Vostro V13 is nicer for them.

Originally Posted by bialio

I just went through the same kind of excersize with my wife - ended up getting a refurb Macbook from Apple - was $850, but you can't beat the battery life (10 hours? what?) and the fit and finish of the unibody.

I promptly installed Win 7 on it when it got here

btl.

If you don't mind paying more, you can't go wrong with the macbook pros. I have a 15" MBP for two years now and no regrets. By the way, I installed Windows 7 on my boot camp also, but the trackpad drivers causes erratic scrolling in Win7. I ended up almost never using bootcamp and use Win7 under VMware Fusion instead. Do you have the same problem on the newer models?

[bialio]

The trackpad driver for Win is not as polished as the one for OS X - I suspect this is on purpose. But I got used to it eventually.

Mainly it's seems like it's almost TOO sensitive - small movements are magnified, and casual brushes up against the TP cause phantom clicks etc.

But like I said, I've gotten used to it.

This is speaking from my experience with my Macbook Pro 15 that's about 6 months old. Haven't played around enough with my wifes new macbook to see if it's the same.....

btl.

[PLUCKYHD]

Stuckless,

I was the same as you anti-apple computer for the longest time. I owned many laptops (hp,dell to name a view). I finally broke down and bought a macbook pro for the wife and now she never gets to use it. The build quality is what every laptop should be and the thing just plain holds battery life for ever and I got to admit the glass screen is really nice. I run parrell on my ours.

Honestly when it comes time for me to upgrade I don't think I can get anything but a mac even if I am not sold on the O/S the laptop is just very nicely built and I love the trackpad on it wish every laptop had it in my opinion.

Also I actually used mac os/x and made my SMM videos on imovie in minutes for what would have taken hours on windows for me.

[mayamaniac]

Originally Posted by bialio

The trackpad driver for Win is not as polished as the one for OS X - I suspect this is on purpose. But I got used to it eventually.

Mainly it's seems like it's almost TOO sensitive - small movements are magnified, and casual brushes up against the TP cause phantom clicks etc.

But like I said, I've gotten used to it.

This is speaking from my experience with my Macbook Pro 15 that's about 6 months old. Haven't played around enough with my wifes new macbook to see if it's the same.....

btl.

If you already installed bootcamp in the new MBP, please test the trackpad to see if it has the same erratic behaviors. I'm not sure if they are doing it deliberately, but apple doesn't think there's an issue with it even though there are thousands of complaints on their support forum. It's sorta like their whole attitude with the iPhone antenna problem, that it's a really a minor to non-issue.

But other than that, the MBPs are really nicely designed and built. You have to pay the premium price for it, but you do get what you paid for. The multi-touch trackpad is really awesome in OSX. I'm not sure why Dell, HP, Acer, Lenovo, etc, can't pull off the same type of trackpad smoothness.

But if you don't want to get a Mac, I would go with that Vostro V13 for the wife and girlfriend, and Alienware MX11 or Lenovo X201 for the guys.