Holiday Buyer's Guide: Notebooks
by Dustin Sklavos on November 15, 2010 9:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Laptops
- Guides
- Holiday 2010
Enter the MacBook
For each of the categories we've listed (well, outside of inexpensive netbook perhaps), there's an Apple alternative, and generally speaking those Apple alternatives are solid. Brian and Anand both use MacBook Pro 15s while they're in the field (and you'd be amazed how often we go in the field, so to speak), and having watched them I can see why.
If you're looking for an ultraportable, the new MacBook Airs are odd chimeras. There's a general distaste around here for Apple opting to continue to use ancient Core 2 processors instead of Arrandale-based chips, but the flipside is that the GeForce 320M integrated graphics are remarkably powerful for these tiny notebooks. If you want something iPad sized but with a physical keyboard, the 11-inch Macbook Air may be what you're looking for.
Really, the big winner in the Apple stable seems to be the MacBook Pro 15. As I said, both Brian and Anand use them, and it's understandable. The Pro 15 has a lot of performance under the hood and brings with it one of the best notebook screens you can find at a time when good displays are at a premium. It's not really a matter of preferring Apple at this juncture; the Pro 15 simply has one of the best blends of form factor, performance, and usability on the market today.
The only reason you'd want to potentially hold off is Sandy Bridge. Apple is expected to update its MacBook Pro lineup sometime next quarter and Sandy Bridge should make a very potent mobile chip.
As for the rest of the lineup, maybe the less said the better. The vanilla MacBook just isn't worth the money anymore with the MacBook Pro 13 available, although the MacBook Pro 17 can make a convincing case for itself if you need a notebook that's that much bigger.
Overall it's going to be a matter of whether or not you're willing to pay the Apple tax (and it can be a steep one) and if you want to make the jump to using Mac OS X. These are certainly capable notebooks as Windows 7 machines, but that's not necessarily what they were intended for. Also keep in mind that connectivity on Apple notebooks is fairly poor compared to their PC brethren: you're going to have to live with just two USB 2.0 ports, no eSATA, and a single Mini-DisplayPort. Bumping up to a MacBook Pro 17 will finally get you an ExpressCard slot and a third USB 2.0 port.
Apple has a tendency to cling to legacy hardware a little longer than maybe they should, but on the flipside, Apple kit also tends to keep a high resale value. The choice is yours.
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JarredWalton - Wednesday, November 17, 2010 - link
If you read the text, you'll see we mention this. It's a Windows 7 Starter issue, which is completely lame and another reason for that OS to not even exist.deeyo - Wednesday, November 17, 2010 - link
When HP has coupons floating around, the dm4 is a great alternative to the UJ30. Lighter with a 6-cell battery, and has the option of getting a 9-cell.And everyone hates the touchpad, but since i've practiced tap-to-click, it doesn't bother me anymore
Mumrik - Wednesday, November 17, 2010 - link
Do people seriously consider 13.3" laptops ultraportables?They're too big for my needs and I usually think you need to hit 12.1" or below to fit that category.
Everything below 13.3 isn't a netbook. Netbooks are netbooks because they're the size of ultraportables but are weak.
narayanagame - Thursday, November 18, 2010 - link
not really.13inch laptops are the right size to consider as ultra portables.
anything smaller than that you ll need to sacrifice either power or ergonomics or battery life.
13inch is right size to do any kind of intense work while carry everywhere daily.
TareX - Thursday, November 18, 2010 - link
I know for a fact that my next lappie will be the Envy 14... unless I decide to get the beefier Envy 15.... Or if an Envy 16 is announced.Visual - Friday, November 19, 2010 - link
I think if you're at all interested in portability, you're going to love tablet convertibles. The HP tm2 is a nice example for those, and worth mention in the ultraportable section. Maybe even worth a separate review.koolh - Friday, November 19, 2010 - link
hey guys. any comments on the lenovo ultraportables? i'm referring to the thinkpad x201. i know thinkpads are generally more expensive, but i love lenovo's reliability and customer service. do the recommended laptops above really beat thinkpads in more areas than just price.thanks
deject - Friday, November 19, 2010 - link
I'm wondering how well the Acer Aspire TimelineX series stacks up against the Asus U30Jc/U35Jc. On Amazon, they have the Acer Aspire TimelineX AS3820T-7459 for about $680, $70 less than the U35Jc, while their spec sheets seem rather close together. I have not seen too many reviews of the TimelineX series though, so I don't know how they stack up in terms of build quality, design, etc.Josh7289 - Friday, November 26, 2010 - link
The ASUS 1015PED-MU17 has a worse processor than the ASUS 1015PN-PU17, so it's not just that latter machine minus the NG-ION.kakfjak - Thursday, May 5, 2011 - link
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