is the MBP 13" the best laptop anywhere for battery life?

[vampireszombies]

I need a laptop for college. I have a VAIO now and it only lasts about an hour on low settings.
So the MBP on average gets about 5-6 hours depending on use of course.
Is there other laptops on the market that meet that many hours on battery?
I've always wanted a Macbook but I wouldnt mind waiting till later to purchase a MBP (when I have a job) rather than spending most of my student loan on the MBP, but if the MBP is the only thing on the market now that truly has amazing battery life (even 4hrs would be amazing to me) then I would have no choice but to buy it.

So, do you know of any laptops that come close to MBP battery life but cost less?

 

[aCondor]

Not that I'm aware of. There may be a couple specifically designed for longer battery life, but Apple products seem to have the longest battery life for mass market laptops. I can typically get 5-6 hours with normal use.

 

[ammarr]

Not really. The Thinkpad X220 (and also the T420) have 7 and 11 hours of runtime (with the 6 and 9 cell batteries respectively).

For e.g. Right now I am running Firefox, Chrome, Thunderbird, Skype, VMWare virtual machine, putty, apache server, Internet explorer 9. Two hard drives (SSD, HDD). Wifi On. Brightness 9/15.

88% remaining. Thinkpad power manager estimates 6:30. Windows estimates 7:11. Another software (battery status) estimates 7:01. This is on the 9 cell battery which sticks out around 2 cm at the back.

 

[thundersteele]

As suggested above, Thinkpads have a comparable battery life. In addition, the battery can be switched easily, so you could buy a spare one if you need it to last longer.

Some of the new Ultrabooks might be doing ok, but honestly, Macbooks and Lenovo Thinkpads are the only laptop brands I would buy these days.

 

[mark28]

Not that I'm aware of. There may be a couple specifically designed for longer battery life, but Apple products seem to have the longest battery life for mass market laptops. I can typically get 5-6 hours with normal use.

Nope, my business laptop with an upgraded battery lasts 9 hours.

 

[zepman]

Acer Aspire TimelineX-series have up to 9h.

 

[dusk007]

The 13" might be the best for its thinness but there are many Notebooks that can last much longer simply because they have options for replaceable batteries or battery slices. Some HPs last 24h on specs with the max battery config.
Even the rather cheap Acer travelmate usually come very close to the 13 MBP battery life but the best idea is some Notebook with a replaceable battery from Dell or such.
You buy a 9cell + a 6 cell. Use the 6 cell when you need not as much battery life, 9 cell for more battery life and both for the maximum.

In my experience many of the new Windows Notebook give better battery life when you actually do stuff compared to Macs that last very long with just Safari open but take a huge hit if you actually run a few apps and work on them.
A Notebook with good powermanagement like a Thinkpad X220 or T series outlasts a MBP with 9 cell battery on any real workload.

 

[praetorx]

Not really. The Thinkpad X220 (and also the T420) have 7 and 11 hours of runtime (with the 6 and 9 cell batteries respectively).

For e.g. Right now I am running Firefox, Chrome, Thunderbird, Skype, VMWare virtual machine, putty, apache server, Internet explorer 9. Two hard drives (SSD, HDD). Wifi On. Brightness 9/15.

88% remaining. Thinkpad power manager estimates 6:30. Windows estimates 7:11. Another software (battery status) estimates 7:01. This is on the 9 cell battery which sticks out around 2 cm at the back.

Ditto. I use a Thinkpad T420 at work (has 80GB Intel SSD) and I forget I'm running it on battery, lasts me almost a full work-day so yes, Apple isn't the only company that makes laptops with good battery life.