Ultrabook ? Which one to get!

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GTAMCN

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Hello fellow mybbers, this is unfortunately another one of those "what laptop to get" threads.

Today a friend asked me which Ultrabook/Thin Laptop he should buy and I have no idea what is good and what is bad in the Ultrabook area.

I would Like some advice that I can pass along to him.

HE has a budget of about 10 - 14 k. HE does not want to play games on it just browsing, word, skype, watch some HD movies and so on. (Windows 8 or 7)

He needs a lightweight and thin laptop and it shouldn't be the ugly duckling of teh bunch(should look good).
:)

Any advice on what brand/model would be much appreciated!
// (I personally like the Samsung Series 5 or 9) :P

I know there were a few threads/posts/articles about ultrabooks, HERE and HERE, but just want to make sure.
 
I bought a Sony Vaio Duo 11 which doubles as an ultrabook and a Win8 tablet.

256GB SSD, 8GB RAM, i7, Full HD, Touch screen and pressure sensitive stylus.
 
Jola said:
I bought a Sony Vaio Duo 11 which doubles as an ultrabook and a Win8 tablet.

256GB SSD, 8GB RAM, i7, Full HD, Touch screen and pressure sensitive stylus.
Click to expand...

You got it :) Pics please. Where did you find it? Been looking for it since I saw your thread but IC in my area didn't know WTF I was on about.
 
BTW, I wouldn't buy an Ultrabook in this day and age that did not have a touchscreen.

That disqualifies 90% of the notebooks / ultrabooks out there.
 
So about R14k total. Damn that's a good price.

EDIT : See they are out of stock :(
 
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Pho3nix said:
So about R14k total. Damn that's a good price.
Click to expand...

Don't forget the shipping. But yes, I prefer to buy notebooks like that.

I haven't had warranty problems, but just be aware of that risk. Worst case is to send it back to the USA for warranty repairs.

Sometimes the notebooks have international warranties (eg Asus), but I don't think Sony does that.
 
PostmanPot said:
13.3" HD 500GB/24GB SSD http://www.asus.com/Notebooks_Ultrabooks/ASUS_ZENBOOK_UX32VD/

13.3" FHD IPS 128GB SSD http://www.asus.com/Notebooks_Ultrabooks/ASUS_ZENBOOK_UX31A/

The 13.3" FHD comes with a Core i5 at R14,500. For about R350 more though, you can get the latest model with Core i7.
Click to expand...

Yes, those are great, and I was originally looking at those, but I wanted a touchscreen, and also 8GB RAM.

I was going to get a UX32VD and rip the drive out and replace it with a 500GB SSD, but it does not make financial sense, the 500GB SSD's are over USD400.
 
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Any ultra-books with touch and Ethernet? See nearly all of these save for the Sony and one Asus have ethernet ports
 
Jola said:
Don't forget the shipping. But yes, I prefer to buy notebooks like that.

I haven't had warranty problems, but just be aware of that risk. Worst case is to send it back to the USA for warranty repairs.

Sometimes the notebooks have international warranties (eg Asus), but I don't think Sony does that.
Click to expand...

I'll saunter down to the Sony shop in my area and see if they could source one. Wouldn't mind a 1-2k difference in price for some assurance that there is some warranty or some sort.

Questions :
Is it sturdy?
How is the keyboard?
Can you use it comfortably as a tablet even though it's apparently very bulky
 
Pho3nix said:
Any ultra-books with touch and Ethernet? See nearly all of these save for the Sony and one Asus have ethernet ports
Click to expand...

The Sony does have a fast Ethernet port - it has everything !

Except for an nVidia graphics card ! But it does have Intel 4000 graphics, not too bad (Asus only has Intel 3000).
 
Pho3nix said:
I'll saunter down to the Sony shop in my area and see if they could source one. Wouldn't mind a 1-2k difference in price for some assurance that there is some warranty or some sort.

Questions :
Is it sturdy?
How is the keyboard?
Can you use it comfortably as a tablet even though it's apparently very bulky
Click to expand...

Some of these could be subjective.

IMO it is sturdy, especially with the screen down, and IMO the keyboard is OK. But some users have said that it is a touch small.

I can use it comfortably as a tablet, but it is a little heavy. You wouldn't use it for reading while lying on your back.

IMO it is nice for travel, especially business travel, when you don't want to take a tablet and a notebook.
 
Think I'll wait and see what happens this month..At this point it's between the Sony and the Surface Pro.
 
Pho3nix said:
Think I'll wait and see what happens this month..At this point it's between the Sony and the Surface Pro.
Click to expand...

ASUS wants your money more :P

ASUS Transformerbook TX300CA 13.3" HD tablet/ultrabook @ R13,787

HXWD.JPG
 
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