Ultrabook pricing comparison
Less than 21mm thick, “ultra-fast” boot up, at least 5 hours of battery life, and pricing below $1,000 for basic models.
These are some of the specifications Intel has laid down for its definition of “Ultrabook™”, a category of high-end subnotebook the chip giant has put a lot of money into.
Manufacturers such as Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Samsung, Sony, and Toshiba have all launched notebooks at various price points that take on Apple’s MacBook Air.
The tables below aim to provide a snapshot of the local ultrabook landscape. For the purposes of this article, only ultra-portables with screens around 11 or 12 inches, and 13 inches are compared.
Prices are taken from a variety of online retailers, with the cheapest price found listed in the tables.
| Ultrabook | Dell XPS 13 | Samsung Series 5 | Asus Zenbook Ux31 | HP Folio 13 | MacBook Air 13-inch 128GB |
| Display | 1366×768 13.3-inch LED | 1366×768 13.3-inch LED | 1600×900 13.3-inch LED | 1366×768 13.3-inch | 1440×900 13.3-inch LED |
| Processor | 1.6GHz Intel Core i5 | 1.6GHz Intel Core i5 | 1.7GHz Intel Core i5 | 1.6GHz Intel Core i5 | 1.8GHz Intel Core i5 |
| Memory | 4GB 1333MHz DDR3 | 4GB 1333MHz DDR3 | 4GB 1333MHz DDR3 | 4GB 1333MHz DDR3 | 4GB 1600MHz DDR3L |
| Storage | 128GB SSD | 128GB SSD | 128GB SSD | 128GB SSD | 128GB SSD |
| Graphics | Intel HD 3000 | Intel HD 3000 | Intel HD 3000 | Intel HD 3000 | Intel HD 4000 |
| Other | Mini DisplayPort, USB 3.0, USB 2.0 | HDMI, USB 2.0, USB 3.0, Ethernet | Micro HDMI, USB 2.0, USB 3.0, mini VGA | HDMI, USB 3.0, USB 2.0 | 1 Thunderbolt, 2 USB 3.0 |
| USD Price | $999 | $999 | $1,049 | $899 | $1,199 |
| ZAR Price | R13,765 | R9,999 | R11,532 | R11,999 | R12,999 |
You can get ultrabooks much cheaper if you’re willing to forego an SSD and settle for a slower Core i3 processor.
A lower spec model of the Acer Aspire S3, for instance, can be had for R9,000 ($800 in the US).
One device not shown in the table above is the Samsung Series 9, mentioned specifically due to confusion its naming may cause: the NP900X3A is the device that was launched in South Africa last year, but Samsung refreshed its Series 9, 5, and 3 laptops earlier in June.
While the pricing for the Series 9 has stayed at around the same level, Samsung has packed more powerful processors and a higher resolution screen into the device, but sacrificed the Duralumin body.
The Dell XPS 13 is a point of concern in both the table above and the one to follow.
| Ultrabook | Acer Aspire S3 | Lenovo IdeaPad U300s | Asus Zenbook Ux31 | MacBook Air 13-inch 256GB | Dell XPS 13 |
| Display | 1366×768 13.3-inch LED | 1366×768 13.3-inch LED | 1600×900 13.3-inch LED | 1440×900 13.3-inch LED | 1366×768 13.3-inch LED |
| Processor | 1.6GHz Intel Core i5 | 1.8GHz Intel Core i7 | 1.7GHz Intel Core i5 | 1.8GHz Intel Core i5 | 1.7GHz Intel Core i7 |
| Memory | 4GB 1333MHz DDR3 | 4GB 1333MHz DDR3 | 4GB 1333MHz DDR3 | 4GB 1600MHz DDR3L | 4GB 1333MHz DDR3 |
| Storage | 256GB SSD | 256GB SSD | 256GB SSD | 256GB SSD | 256GB SSD |
| Graphics | Intel HD 3000 | Intel HD | Intel HD 3000 | Intel HD 4000 | Intel HD 3000 |
| Other | HDMI, 2 USB 2.0 | HDMI, USB 2.0, USB 3.0 | Micro HDMI, USB 2.0, USB 3.0, mini VGA | 1 Thunderbolt, 2 USB 3.0 | Mini DisplayPort, USB 3.0, USB 2.0 |
| USD Price | $1,050 | $1,499 | $1,449 | $1,499 | $1,499 |
| ZAR Price | R11,889 | R15,767 | R16,599 | R16,499 | R17,310 |
As can be seen from both of the tables above, the Dell XPS 13 costs significantly more in South Africa than its overseas pricing suggests it should cost.
This makes Dell’s 13-inch ultrabook contender a particularly bad buy at online retailers in South Africa, especially considering that the company’s recommended starting price for the PC is R8,500. Were the device available for that price, the Dell XPS 13 would be a far more attractive buy.
In the 11.6-inch Ultrabook category competition at South African retail seems fairly limited, though there are more contenders internationally.
The table below compares the 11-inch offering from Asus against the MacBook Air.
| Ultrabook | MacBook Air 11-inch 64GB | Asus Ux21 | MacBook Air 11-inch 128GB |
| Display | 1366×768 11.6-inch LED | 1366×768 11.6-inch LED | 1366×768 11.6-inch LED |
| Processor | 1.7GHz Intel Core i5 | 1.6GHz Intel Core i5 | 1.7GHz Intel Core i5 |
| Memory | 4GB 16000MHz DDR3L | 4GB 1333MHz DDR3 | 4GB 16000MHz DDR3L |
| Storage | 64GB SSD | 128GB SSD | 128GB SSD |
| Graphics | Intel HD 4000 | Intel HD 3000 | Intel HD 4000 |
| Other | 1 Thunderbolt, 2 USB 3.0 | Micro HDMI, USB 3.0, USB 2.0, mini VGA | 1 Thunderbolt, 2 USB 3.0 |
| USD Price | $999 | $1,099 | $1,099 |
| ZAR Price | R10,499 | R10,725 | R11,999 |
Related articles
Acer Aspire S3 Ultrabook review
Dell XPS 13 Ultrabook laptop review
Batteries, many-core processing and Ultrabooks: IDF 2011 roundup
Loading ...