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GKDAIR

macrumors regular
Original poster
Oct 4, 2011
230
4
You know, Windows version of Macbook Air?


I've seen them at stores, and its really quite sad how far companies like Toshiba and Samsung go to make their computers look just like Macbooks.

I know Toshiba and Samsung are responsible for some parts in the Macbook Air, but their Ultrabooks feel so cheap. Nothing will ever top a Mac in my honest opinion, and since using one I can never go back to windows.
 

jeremyx

macrumors member
Jun 15, 2012
53
0
According to about 100% of the reviews, top-line ultrabooks from Samsung and Asus etc. feel excellent quality all-around, even topping Air in many aspects.

Let me quote The Verge's Samsung series 9 13" review: "probably the most beautiful laptops I've ever seen". Thinner than MBA, still "Yet, despite the thinness, the 13-inch Series 9 retains excellent build quality".

Obviously they vary quite a bit, so it would be foolish to compate lowend Windows Ultrabook to a high-end MBA. But if you're looking top-line models from the Windows manufacturers, they hold their own to MBA and go far beyond in many aspects.
 

allmIne

macrumors 6502a
Sep 17, 2008
771
0
United Kingdom
You know, Windows version of Macbook Air?


I've seen them at stores, and its really quite sad how far companies like Toshiba and Samsung go to make their computers look just like Macbooks.

I know Toshiba and Samsung are responsible for some parts in the Macbook Air, but their Ultrabooks feel so cheap. Nothing will ever top a Mac in my honest opinion, and since using one I can never go back to windows.

What a strange thread. You sound like you fall asleep with your macbook air clutched to your chest every night. Regardless, there are only so many ways you can style a computer. Nothing sad about that.

Cheers.
 

oneMadRssn

macrumors 603
Sep 8, 2011
5,961
13,939
I took home a 15" Samsung Series 9 for a few days. It was fantastic for a PC. Very light, big screen, super thin, nice built quality, and great battery life.

On the downside the charger was ugly and nowhere near as smooth as magsafe, the screen was "meh" (not worse than MBA, but worse than MBP), and the screen hinge could not be opened with 1 hand.

The main gripe I had with it was the trackpad. I guess I'm just spoiled by Apple's enormous, responsive, and very useful trackpad.

Nevertheless, I would recommend that Samsung to any PC guys looking for a 15" PC that doesn't need discrete graphics.

Also worth mentioning, despite a 15" laptop being .58" thick and weighing only 3.5lbs with 7-10hr battery life, it was user-serviceable; it had two RAM dimms that could be upgraded and a standard mSATA SSD which could also easily be upgraded. To me this proves that Apple crippled the upgradeability of the MBA and rMBP for reasons other than it being an engineering necessity.
 

weezin

macrumors 6502
Jul 20, 2012
378
213
My girlfriend has an HP Folio 13 (that I bought her) and I love it (I have a 2011 Air). The screen isn't as good, and generally I like my Air better, but damn, I was impressed with the Folio. Nice keyboard, good trackpad, very handsome design.

Reviewers complained that the design was too business looking or bland, but I really like it. Nice smooth metal surfaces with the soft touch black plastic on the underside (which I also like).
 

neteng101

macrumors 65816
Jan 7, 2009
1,148
163
According to about 100% of the reviews, top-line ultrabooks from Samsung and Asus etc. feel excellent quality all-around, even topping Air in many aspects.

Quality has increased tremendously, but when you actually type and use the trackpad on them, none come close to the MBA/MBP. And PC ultrabooks are not really bargain basement cheap either anymore so the good old value for money portion is gone.
 

quactaur

macrumors newbie
Dec 28, 2007
27
0
Don't even bother. As some have pointed out, the latest ultrabooks are pretty, small and in some cases have better build quality than the Airs (they may cost a bit more, but that's fair enough).

The killer for me was and always will be the trackpads though. I have yet to use one with anything better than adequate two finger scrolling, and even that isn't a guarantee on many of them.

It is, especially once you've gotten used to Lion/ML's incredible range of swipes and gestures, a complete dealbreaker.

I think ultrabooks may well get competitive once Windows 8 versions with touchscreens start to come out. I could put up with a lacklustre trackpad if I can instead use gestures on-screen.
 

jj97101

macrumors member
Feb 13, 2012
54
0
Don't even bother. As some have pointed out, the latest ultrabooks are pretty, small and in some cases have better build quality than the Airs (they may cost a bit more, but that's fair enough).

The killer for me was and always will be the trackpads though. I have yet to use one with anything better than adequate two finger scrolling, and even that isn't a guarantee on many of them.

It is, especially once you've gotten used to Lion/ML's incredible range of swipes and gestures, a complete dealbreaker.

I think ultrabooks may well get competitive once Windows 8 versions with touchscreens start to come out. I could put up with a lacklustre trackpad if I can instead use gestures on-screen.

Yep, that's what did it for me as well, the trackpad. Was deciding between the Asus UX31 or the MacBook Air and I chose the air because of the excellent trackpad.
 

KPOM

macrumors P6
Oct 23, 2010
18,020
7,863
I bought my dad a Vizio Thin & Light. While it is nice, inexpensive (at $1199 for the i7/256GB version) and has a gorgeous 1600x900 14" IPS screen, the trackpad is awful. It's hard to believe that after 4 years Windows manufacturers can't get it right. Maybe it will change with Windows 8, but with the latter's focus on touch screens, somehow I doubt it. The keyboard is OK (but not backlit). That said, it's a solid first effort from Vizio.
 

goodyear77

macrumors newbie
Mar 3, 2012
27
5
Just to comment, the Asus UX31 and Samsung 13" 9-series can't be bought with more than 4GB of RAM (maybe not a dealbreaker but 8GB would be nice to future proof it) and no more than 128 GB SSD storage (this is a dealbreaker for me), at least not in my country (Sweden). The MBA provides these two options.

Was considering the ASUS and the Samsung Ultrabooks, but limited RAM and SSD, and the fact that the ASUS high resolution would make it difficult to work with for me (things will be very small, and Windows doesn't scale very well + things get blury when it's not in the screen's native resolution). The Samsung was not price competitive with the MBA given the educational discount I'm able to get.

All in all, the MBA has some of the greatest HW around today with good price/performance, and if you UEFI-boot into windows (supported OOTB in Win 8), you can use standard Windows drivers and not depend on Apples bootcamp drivers.
 

plucky duck

macrumors 6502a
Jan 5, 2012
579
107
The track pad was what killed it for me on the series 9. The build itself is very unique and stylish and refreshing, but in the end I know I'll end up just getting frustrated using it.
 

stchman

macrumors 6502a
Jul 16, 2012
671
2
St. Louis, MO
You know, Windows version of Macbook Air?


I've seen them at stores, and its really quite sad how far companies like Toshiba and Samsung go to make their computers look just like Macbooks.

I know Toshiba and Samsung are responsible for some parts in the Macbook Air, but their Ultrabooks feel so cheap. Nothing will ever top a Mac in my honest opinion, and since using one I can never go back to windows.

I was VERY close to buying an Asus Zenbook Prime. The MBA had a tad bit better build quality from my inspection, but the Prime's 1080p display was far superior to the MBA. If I had bought the Prime I would have just erased Windows 7 is favor of Ubuntu.

Since I had convinced myself of the "need" of an ultrabook style laptop, the MBA was prices about the same as the Prime.

I have never played with a Samsung ultrabook, but the Toshiba Portege pales in comparison to the Asus and MBA.
 

asting

macrumors 6502
Jun 10, 2012
378
3
I was VERY close to buying an Asus Zenbook Prime. The MBA had a tad bit better build quality from my inspection, but the Prime's 1080p display was far superior to the MBA. If I had bought the Prime I would have just erased Windows 7 is favor of Ubuntu.

Since I had convinced myself of the "need" of an ultrabook style laptop, the MBA was prices about the same as the Prime.

I have never played with a Samsung ultrabook, but the Toshiba Portege pales in comparison to the Asus and MBA.
I almost bought the prime, and i definitely would have been dual booting ubuntu had I done so. The screen is much nicer, however the scaling isn't quite right in windows. Some apps handle it by default, and others you have to adjust manually. It does seem a tad much on a 13" laptop, but then again 3 years from now the lowest you'll be able to get will be that resolution.

Dell's XPS13 was very tempting too, however the pricing wasn't that much better and the screen resolution was a little disappointing. They never updated to Ivy Bridge yet either.

As a lifetime windows and linux user the ultrabooks are very nice. I really wanted to try out the macbook air though, and they are actually decently priced when compared to windows competitors (unlike every other apple computer).

Also, what the hell is up with dell calling every one of their laptops an ultrabook? as far as I know only the xps 13 meets intel's specifications for an ultrabook, as the others are much larger and heavier.
 
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Atemporal

macrumors newbie
Jun 28, 2012
23
0
Also, what the hell is up with dell calling every one of their laptops an ultrabook? as far as I know only the xps 13 meets intel's specifications for an ultrabook, as the others are much larger and heavier.

Marketing. People are more likely to buy something that sounds premium (ultrabook) than something average (mainstream notebook).
 

luvskot

macrumors newbie
Jul 28, 2012
17
0
Oklahoma
You know, Windows version of Macbook Air?


I've seen them at stores, and its really quite sad how far companies like Toshiba and Samsung go to make their computers look just like Macbooks.

I know Toshiba and Samsung are responsible for some parts in the Macbook Air, but their Ultrabooks feel so cheap. Nothing will ever top a Mac in my honest opinion, and since using one I can never go back to windows.


I bought a Lenovo u300s in November of 2011, and loved it for four months. It was sharp, snappy and wonderfully portable. In April of this year, the touch pad started freezing up. They made three attempts to repair it without any luck. I received a full refund and bought my Macbook Air.

I'm impressed. I'm new to Mac and there's no doubt the Air's build quality is better. I am having a minor issue with it (typing lag) but have never been sorry I got it. I just with I'd bought it FIRST.
 

boomboom2

macrumors regular
Apr 12, 2012
116
0
I have a Samsung Series 9 as well as a MBA. I really love the black aesthetics. It really looks great without looking like a MBA (Here's looking at ASUS). My main gripe is the track pad. I've gotten spoiled by my Apple track pad, but I hope Windows 8 alleviates a lot of that. It's a great machine for someone who doesn't care for OS X.
 

asting

macrumors 6502
Jun 10, 2012
378
3
Marketing. People are more likely to buy something that sounds premium (ultrabook) than something average (mainstream notebook).
I understand why they do it, but am perplexed as to how they can legally do so. Obviously taking advantage of the name is a good idea, because intel does advertising on the brand and it's a recognized name.


EDIT: It appears there are no official requirements for weight, which is good because dell's 14" "ultrabook" is a heft 4.6lbs.
 
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