Ultra books - is there a go to brand / model
Discussion
I'm looking to get hold of something in addition to a tablet. Small ish, light, good screen, decent battery and hardware for general use.
I've looked at the likes of HP, Lenovo Yoga, Surface etc but trying to fathom out which decent looking laptops part numbers equate to those that are actually available to buy. With seemingly never ending spec changes and retailer specific models, its giving me a headache.
Is there anything such as a go to brand or range which should be a solid performer? Thought I'd found a Yoga at one store only to find out after much googling that it's 4k screen (which I don't need) dropped the effective battery life to 4 hrs.
Any suggestions greatly appreciated.
oh, and definitely no Apple.
I've looked at the likes of HP, Lenovo Yoga, Surface etc but trying to fathom out which decent looking laptops part numbers equate to those that are actually available to buy. With seemingly never ending spec changes and retailer specific models, its giving me a headache.
Is there anything such as a go to brand or range which should be a solid performer? Thought I'd found a Yoga at one store only to find out after much googling that it's 4k screen (which I don't need) dropped the effective battery life to 4 hrs.
Any suggestions greatly appreciated.
oh, and definitely no Apple.
Surfing yes, but also general work activities incl all the usual MS files though appreciate some of this could be done via cloud software.
Will also need to handle some light photo processing, managing, watching / streaming media etc on / from a NAS.
Also importantly, as well spend some fairly reasonable time on it, it needs to have the unquantifiable ' really nice to use' aspect to it.
Will also need to handle some light photo processing, managing, watching / streaming media etc on / from a NAS.
Also importantly, as well spend some fairly reasonable time on it, it needs to have the unquantifiable ' really nice to use' aspect to it.
I did a lot of looking around a while ago....ended up with a Lenovo X1 Carbon.
Very much has that "unquantifiable" aspect to me. Also has the best keyboard currently available on this sort of laptop (any current laptop in all likelihood) great screen (go for the higher end one) and is very compact and light.
Key - it's been uber reliable. Unlike the Dell XPS I tried (which also had a poor keyboard... But touchscreen was surprisingly handy) and Macbook Pro (which sealed my divorce from Apple laptops after 15yrs or so).
Considered a Yoga but the X1 better suited my needs.
Very much has that "unquantifiable" aspect to me. Also has the best keyboard currently available on this sort of laptop (any current laptop in all likelihood) great screen (go for the higher end one) and is very compact and light.
Key - it's been uber reliable. Unlike the Dell XPS I tried (which also had a poor keyboard... But touchscreen was surprisingly handy) and Macbook Pro (which sealed my divorce from Apple laptops after 15yrs or so).
Considered a Yoga but the X1 better suited my needs.
Murph7355 said:
I did a lot of looking around a while ago....ended up with a Lenovo X1 Carbon.
Very much has that "unquantifiable" aspect to me. Also has the best keyboard currently available on this sort of laptop (any current laptop in all likelihood) great screen (go for the higher end one) and is very compact and light.
Cheers, not looked at the x1 so will now. Comfortable with Lenovo as I've got a business spec x280 for work. Very much has that "unquantifiable" aspect to me. Also has the best keyboard currently available on this sort of laptop (any current laptop in all likelihood) great screen (go for the higher end one) and is very compact and light.
RDBx said:
Cheers, not looked at the x1 so will now. Comfortable with Lenovo as I've got a business spec x280 for work.
I got the WQHD screen. Very nice to use, though it's glossy and picks up smudge marks.In an ideal world Lenovo would do the same screen res and brightness but with touchscreen and a matt screen...but you can't have everything
One demerit on the keyboard front is that the backlight is manual. First world problems, but it's one area that Apple excelled at (just a shame they forgot how to craft decent keyboards in every other respect).
(Just looking at the Lenovo site, it looks like they've also ramped up the battery. And I'd delete the "carbon weave" lid cover too).
BluePurpleRed said:
I have handled a few Microsoft Surface Pros and I hate myself for saying it but they are really nice.
Surface Pros are tablets really. I also think they're decent, but they're a different beast. Also quite pricey for what you get and surprisingly bulky. Surface Books are the 2 in 1 jobs with the shonky hinge. I couldn't buy one for that alone
Surface Laptops are nice little machines. Had a good look at them but at the end of the day the connectivity and heft for the price weren't as good as the Lenovo. But possibly worth a look. In the 3rd gen one I think connectivity has marginally improved, but not enough.
Murph7355 said:
RumbleOfThunder said:
Why no Apple? 
Dire keyboard, poor connectivity and I had two failures on a new Macbook Pro in quick succession leaving me machine less for a week the first time (second time I handed it back). Good luck with trying to get speedy resolutions with Lenovo, Huawei or Microsoft.
Another vote for X1 Carbons. We use them at work, so they get dropped, trod on, used in the rain etc. etc. and don't fail. Only downside is lack of Ethernet port but then the dongle approach means if it does get dropped it just unplugs itself rather than swinging around on the ethernet cable and breaking stuff.
They're also super light and the keyboard is amazing. We've replaced all the toughbooks with X1s now as in actual use they don't break or fail any more than Toughbooks do despite not being "rugged".
They're also super light and the keyboard is amazing. We've replaced all the toughbooks with X1s now as in actual use they don't break or fail any more than Toughbooks do despite not being "rugged".
poppopbangbang said:
Another vote for X1 Carbons. We use them at work, so they get dropped, trod on, used in the rain etc. etc. and don't fail. Only downside is lack of Ethernet port but then the dongle approach means if it does get dropped it just unplugs itself rather than swinging around on the ethernet cable and breaking stuff.
They're also super light and the keyboard is amazing. We've replaced all the toughbooks with X1s now as in actual use they don't break or fail any more than Toughbooks do despite not being "rugged".
Is the support good from Lenovo if things go wrong? On site warranty and swap outs available?They're also super light and the keyboard is amazing. We've replaced all the toughbooks with X1s now as in actual use they don't break or fail any more than Toughbooks do despite not being "rugged".
shopper150 said:
Is the support good from Lenovo if things go wrong? On site warranty and swap outs available?
Yep they just turn up next day and fix it. We've had some stuff replaced under Warranty that definitely shouldn't have been as it was clearly out fault. I don't think we've had any that have failed in normal use thinking about it.They also seem very unfussed about water damage as I bet we don't have a single one that hasn't got all the tell tales the wrong colour inside it
.My new P1 Gen2 needed a new OLED unit within 3 weeks of arriving... it was done onsite but took a couple of weeks owing to poor availability (just released).
Apart from that it’s been absolutely superb. Battery isn’t good though - but that’s just what you get from squeezing an i9 / 64GB / 2xNVME / 4K OLED / Quadro in a slim chassis. I use mine as a plugged in desktop replacement most of the time though.
Apart from that it’s been absolutely superb. Battery isn’t good though - but that’s just what you get from squeezing an i9 / 64GB / 2xNVME / 4K OLED / Quadro in a slim chassis. I use mine as a plugged in desktop replacement most of the time though.
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