Ten Windows 8 Ultrabooks Stop anyone on the street and ask them for a definition of the term ‘Ultrabook’ and I suspect they will look at you with utter incomprehension. Hardly surprising, since Intel’s effort to create a popular brand for thin’n’light notebooks hasn’t really been a roaring success. To me, the Ultrabook is the logical evolution of the …
> The new Ford Fiesta is more economical, more spacious, more comfortable and better equipped than previous models, but that doesn’t make it an ultrahatchback.
It does if you price it at £20K. For that money I would want "ultra" performance and comfort. Or more likely decide I'd prefer the perfectly good older Fiesta at £10K.
But then the Fiesta has gotten a bit bloated - the latest model is mk1 Focus sized, the Ka could be thought of as a spiritual Fiesta (though the mk2 doesn't seem to be a huge seller).
Ultrabooks would be the size of desktop computers if they followed the car analogy, and people who once bought family desktops would now be buying sports utility minicomputers with bullbars for their offspring to do their homework on.
Hi AC, I own a Sony VAIO which I use for Uni as a postgrad MBA student. It runs win 8, has a touchscreen, full enterprise ms office courtesy of a work deal - £15). Start menu replace men installed with no fuss.
The machine fits in a document folder, battery lasts about 7 hours and it starts up in under 10 seconds. the cost was £600.
its not my daily machine but it is bloody good at what it does. So yes, I bought into the ultra book fantasy and I am glad I did.
its not my daily machine but it is bloody good at what it does. So yes, I bought into the ultra book fantasy and I am glad I did.
Good for you. For the rest of us - we are not students and have to work for our money, so no, we prefer something mundane with a good price/performance ratio to get the maximum use out of our bucks.
Ultra books unfortunately suck on that scale.
<- Paris - she doesn't come cheap either...
"The new Ford Fiesta is more economical, more spacious" etc.
Which is about as far as the analogy goes. The new Ford Fiesta comes with a round steering wheel, not a square one. The steering wheel is mounted in front of the driver, not attached to the parcel shelf. You do not have to prod the bottom left corner of the windshield to make the instruments appear and you don't have to go to Halfords for an accessory package to change everything back to how the old Fiesta was made
Any of these laptops would be a delight with an operating system UI that wasn't the result of an intellectually challenged marketing droids wet dream.
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The S200E isn't an ultrabook, it has a shiny metal keyboard deck, it's thin and light with a good battery life, but it leaves out the most important feature that Intel requires for it to be called an ultrabook - being hideously overpriced. I have an S200E and it does everything I want of a small laptop, I wouldn't buy some of the grand plus machines even if you gave me the money.
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@Eadon:
Xerox STAR -> MAC OS
Diamond RIO -> iPod
MS' tablets -> iPAD
Sony Viao (ultrathin) -> Mac Book air
Don't mistake Apple (or many other IT companies) for originators of ideas, they're much like Edison, existing products polished and tidied up and sold on, not much real innovation.
Anyway, who cares? Competition in a market for similar products is a good thing. I don't want to have only one OS or one laptop of a particular approximate design.
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MS' tablets weren't based on the Newton. The Newton was a PDA (I owned one) whereas MS' tablets always ran a full version of the desktop OS. There were no capacitive touchscreens at the time, so stylus was your option and actually it is a pretty good option, especially in conjunction with finger-touch as you have these days.
I'd accept that you think it's a gray area, if it weren't for your rabid posting of anti-MS bile and the fact that you then continue to do the same thing: Sony didn't invent the home console, Google didn't invent the web search, how is it ok for them to market these products and not incur your wrath? This is lame clutching at straws to accuse a company you hate of doing something which you seem to disprove of, despite the fact that you say you approve of it. You are rambling and inconsistent, your blinding hatred of MS makes you capable of some pretty impressive double-think, but it doesn't help your arguments.
Ok I bite on this one
Xerox Star -> Original Mac -> Windows 3.1.
X-Windows -> Mac OSX -> Vista/Aero.
Rio MP3 Player -> Creative DAT -> iPod -> Zune
Decades of Sci Fi -> MS Windows Tablets -> iPad -> Surface.
SE 800 -> SE 900 -> SE910 .... -> iPhone -> Windows Phone 7/8. (assuming you mean a tile or user friendly interface, as the iPhone was a huge step backwards hardware wise for the Europeana dn Far-Eastern markets)
Apple copying everyone else .......... Steve Jobb's real skill (aside from anoying the crap out of most people who worked with/for him) as marketting and trend analysis. Successfuly Apple products have never been original in idea, it was Steve spotting when the market aws finally ready.
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Slightly different though:
Xerox STAR -> Original Mac -> Windows 3.1. (But they didn't get it "right" until Windows 95, UI wise.)
BSD/NeXT/BeOS/UNIX/Linux -> Mac OSX -> Vista/Aero.
RIO PMP -> iPod -> Zune.
Newton -> MS Tablets -> iPad -> Surface.
Netbooks -> Macbook Air -> Ultrabooks
(the zillion smartphones we already had) -> iPhone -> Windows Phone 7/8.
Yes, the late Jobs was an expert in copying stuff and succeeding where others had moderate success or even failed. But at least the Apple stuff has some brains in the copying instead of "copy X so Y will succeed". MS is now attempting to copy the Jobs attitude, the "my way or the highway" philosophy with Windows 8. Gross!!
I'm not spending that sort of dosh for something that is 'sexy', give me performance and value and I'll think about it. MY 5 year old lenovo Y550 (cost ₤450 with about ₤100 in upgrades spent on it since) is more than adequate for my mobile needs and will continue to be so until something not easily replaced on it dies. When it does die I will not be looking at ₤1000 replacements.
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Actually closer to 2.5 Kg, and about 1.5" thick, besides my use of my laptop is not on the move. It is invariably on the couch or at my desk, lugging the thing to work is not that big a deal as it fits snugly into my rather large briefcase anyway. Meeting my needs is what I do at the minimum expenditure, these "Ultrabooks" don't do that for me. And in answer to Eadon I wouldn't give Apple so much as a sou of my hard earned cash for their slant on overpriced kit with underwhelming performance.
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Don't get me wrong: SSDs are great, but expensive.
The Intel definition of an "Ultrabook" specifies SSD rather than spinning rust. That means that any Ultrabook will be limited in storage or have a high-end price. That doesn't make ultrabooks bad, but does limit their mass-market appeal.
Personally, I'd love a lighter laptop, but I'd pick 1TB of spinning rust over a similarly priced 128GB SSD any day. For me, the whole point of having a mobile PC is that I can store everything I need and everything I might need on it, and not find that work (or play) stops when I haven't got an internet connection (or the internet connection is too slow and/or too expensive).
Desktop PCs, on the other hand, can be useful with relatively small disks because they're always going to be a connected to a server.
The whole "Ultrabook" concept seems wrong. It's just an overpriced sexed-up netbook, but it should be a lightweight laptop replacement.
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For 6, you really mean "Does it come with this week's approved distro of choice?"
You're never going to get linux pre-installed when there are so many different distros and the more shoutey advocates change their mind what's the one that everyone should want on a regular basis.
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and it's been called dev/null in casual internet discussion since before your balls dropped.
Of course, back when people like you called people noobs for being right, they were instantly referred to as one of these.
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And to think I previously up voted you for not using Caps and for putting forward a reasonable argument. I'm taking my +1 back with a -1 on this post.
A few serious questions though:
1). Do you prefer to get -1 rather than +1 votes?
2) How many sockpuppets are you using on this site?
3). After all the down votes do you still think typing SOMETHING, SOMETHING, MS FAIL is funny?
Nuke - `cause they`re not funny either
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So there are a couple of posts here talking about the Air.
What does the Air have to do with a Windows 8 device round up exactly?
Yes, they look very similar etc etc, but this is a Windows 8 article.
If this were a 10" ultra portable product round up, then there would be cause for its inclusion, I am sure.
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Complete FUD
Windows 8 is not impractical - it has the Windows desktop.
Is clicking on the Desktop button so difficult? Or, are you complaining about the loss of the Start menu? If you are, then sod off - I think I can speak for a great many people with that comment.
You are, by your own words, a Linux fanboi-cultist, in some regards you are very similar to North Korea - spouting bullshit that has a basis in truth, but with a deep veneer of nonsense and having people sort of agree with you, but who dont want to make themselves known as doing so would be as advantageous as licking a cheese grater.
I fail to understand how, or why, someone who professes to use Linux (and Mint, of all things), is this interested in the Windows UI. Surely it should mean absolutely nothing to you, after-all you are the enlightened individual using Linux after all.
Go play with your command line, you may end up learning something about Linux, and let the grown ups talk.
It would be refreshing to see a product round up discussion board that has some sensible things in it for a change, like are the devices any good etc - from actual users.
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You know, I am not actually sure I have read a review that says Windows 8 is impractical.
Sure, I have read a lot of comments and columns etc that complain about the lack of a start menu, but pretty much everyone agrees that this is one of the fastest Windows yet. In fact, if MS put the start menu back it would make a lot of people happy. Including yourself, based on your "comments" on the matter.
By saying Windows 8 is impractical because it takes a click more to get to the desktop, you paint yourself in a rather sad picture. But then again, it matters not to you because you are not a Windows user, your comments are irrelevant.
And to state that the PC market is in decline because of Windows 8, well lets face it - thats a bit silly really isnt it? The PC market is probably in decline because the consumer can get what they want from a smartphone or tablet these days. Think about it for one second (if you can pause the cultist nonsense for a second), the average consumer wants to be able to surf the web, watch youtube and send emails. If they can get that from a device then they are happy.
It leads us to the irresistible truth that the consumer is in charge of the PC market, not you.
Now that we have put you right, you can move on to whatever burning topic you choose to whine about next.
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Eadon, as usual you are bereft of a clue.
I note that you have neatly sidestepped the the topic of the consumer controlling the PC market. It must gall you that it is the consumer after all that decides the direction devices take as opposed to your soap-boxing.
One day, I am sure you will be able to produce a comment, hopefully here if not then at least to your community psychiatric nurse, that is useful.
FFS I am really responding to your bait tonight Eadon.
Have you seriously given Win 8 a go? I don't mean an rtm or developer version run in a VM. On a machine with a touchscreen designed for Win 8?
With the FUD that you spread plus information which is plain wrong,, you come across as misinformed or someone with a grudge
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I bought myself a Windows 8 upgrade for my ThinkPad x220t and yes, I had to learn a few new tricks but now I find it a HUGE improvement over 7. And no, I didn't install a start menu because when you learn how to use the Start screen correctly, it's actually faster than the start menu.
Improvements after Win8 upgrade :
- Starts faster (20 seconds from off to "ready to work" instead of a minute to "started but not yet ready")
- Battery life extended (I believe by as much as 25%)
- Improved file copy/move dialogs
- Account synching across computers...
And that's only what is really obvious.
I've yet to meet someone who really tried it and still dislike Windows 8. And I mean really tried, not just read somewhere that it's bad.
I'd say that's a pretty important property of a laptop. I ignored a broad swathe of the last generation of 'ultrabooks', because their batteries were only good for a short commute.
screen makes do with a resolution of only 1366 x 768, though on a panel this size that’s arguably all you need or want
No. No no no no no. You do us a disservice by repeating such things. Have we not expressed our dissatisfaction with the state of laptop screens enough by now?
I'm hoping that Google's new Chromebook Pixel will herald a new batch of small laptops with rather more sensible resolutions and aspect ratios. Now if only they'd give us a non-glossy screen and slice a few hundred quid off the price, none of these other offering would get a look in...
The "Ultrabook" as defined by Intel, must have a battery life of at least 5 hours for the previous 2 platforms (Huron River and Chief River). The next platform (due mid-2013), Shark Bay, must have at least 9 hours.
There is absolutely no way in hell that *any* ultrabook will only last a short commute, unless you consider transatlantic your commute. Hell, I could play GTA IV on my 40 minute commute with it and still have enough juice left over to run word for an hour when I get to work.
My Ultrabook is quoted at 8 hours, and real-life use is around 5.5 hours (films/internet/music/photo editing)
Gaming will drain it in around an hour (my knees won't last that long with the heat the Kepler GPU pumps out).
RE:screen res, 1366x768 might be low for todays panels, but in the real world, I've yet to really think "you know what, Skyrim would look better at 1080p on low settings rather than 1366x768 on high." I thought I'd regret it when buying it, but actually, I've barely noticed. Note - this is not an excuse for laptop makers to stop improving screen res, but by all means let apple fanbois subsidise 2K panels for the rest of us for a while - I'm happy for them to pay the early adopters tax rather than me.
I've just recently bought a 13.3inch Samsung Series 9, and I'm pretty happy with it. It's very light and beautifully made. Screen, keyboard, touch pad and battery life are all good. The only downside is that you need a non-standard adapter for VGA out.
It came with Windows 8. Once you turn off all the Metro/IFKAM stuff, and add a start menu, it's actually a decent upgrade to windows 7. The start-up time is fantastic.
An ultrabook is a glorified and over-priced netbook, a form factor the market has already replaced with tablets. It's several years too late to be a Mac Air wannabe.
A business machine needs an all day battery as a MINIMUM requirement. Since full HD screens are becoming the norm on smartphones, anything less is like going back in time. As Mr Jobs noted, "touch secreens want to be horizontal", they have no place on a laptop-type machine. Hybrid devices have failed in the market since the beginning of time.
And then there's the OS and the price...
I'm quite happy with the hybrid drive on my clapped out core 2 duo laptop. Seeing as a 32bit OS can't see more than 4gb of ram, I doubt that I'll be adding four more anytime soon. I'd have been interested to find out how many of these top o' the line gizmos are running a 64bit version of Win8, and more importantly for business users, how many films they're good for in twoo HD during an arduous train journey to company outpost X in the low wage hinterlands. One simply can't abide an executive laptop leaving one in battery fail limbo just as that nice Mr Bourne/Bond is tearing someone's leg off with his pinky.
Asus S200 does have 64-bit Win 8 and will do just short of 4h-ish of video viewing on VLC.
Picked it up in the US for $449 from Best Buy and was stunned at the value for money... I was looking for a cheap machine for my daughter but have hung onto it myself and am recomending it to everyone and their dog... consequently the price has been creaping up... was £379 in the UK for the 1.8G i3 model and now it is £420ish... in the space of the last month!
ultrabooks before their time - I used to have 2 x 7200 porteges - one linux, one W2000 and they were stable and pretty bomb-proof with magnesium frames.
you could pick them up ex-business when the execs had moved onto their next shiiny for 1/4 of their new value and barely used other than for watching cat videos and playing minesweeper.
ah those were the days....
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If a half way reasonable "ultrabook" or Windows 8 touch screen hand held costs $600.00 USD or more, and an iPad costs less, and while it might do a tad less, what it doesn't do can't really be done on a touch handhold, and what it does, it does well...all the windows thing offers is extra customizability, less coherent design...
Samsung 900X4C Ultrabook = I win (am wondering why the series 7 is reviewed). Anything smaller that 15" and the compacted keyboards are just a pain for me personally. I got told by a MacBook Air owner that my Samsung wasn't portable so he wouldn't buy one... He's creative and I'm not so I took his word for it and carried it off under my arm while scratching my head.
On this Samsung though... why do I need 8Gb of RAM? :/
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