Macbook Air 11" battery runtime for Calibre/ebooks - ?

[cypress45]

I'm looking to replace my Win 8.1 tablet which lasts 8hrs max purely for ebooks. Can anyone chime in with battery life from start to death reading via Calibre with brightness around 40%-50%? I'm looking at the 11" 128GB Air, possibly with 8GB RAM to ensure futureproofing (for the OS, not for ebooks). The other choice is the Lenovo X240, which can hit 20hrs, and around $200 more. Anyone (and no I don't want an Ipad) - ?

 

[motrek]

I'm looking to replace my Win 8.1 tablet which lasts 8hrs max purely for ebooks. Can anyone chime in with battery life from start to death reading via Calibre with brightness around 40%-50%? I'm looking at the 11" 128GB Air, possibly with 8GB RAM to ensure futureproofing (for the OS, not for ebooks). The other choice is the Lenovo X240, which can hit 20hrs, and around $200 more. Anyone (and no I don't want an Ipad) - ?

I believe Apple quotes 9 hours for the 11" Air. Of course battery life can vary wildly depending on what you do but if you're just reading ebooks then there's no reason you should get less than 9 hours. Maybe a couple more since you can turn wifi off, etc.

 

[joshlalonde]

It really varies, but you'll get a good 10-12 hours browsing the internet (provided you use Safari).
The thing is, you're jumping from a dedicated tablet to a full-powered laptop. Is that really what you want?

You haven't detailed your usage beyond e-reading, so I can't recommend anything other than an e-reader at this point.

Assuming, however, that you intended to get a full laptop, then the Air will be your best bet on multiple fronts.
1. Price ($100-200 cheaper than competing ultrabooks with similar specs)
2. Power (i5-i7, 4-8GB RAM, SSD)
3. Battery life (-12+ hours)
4. Weight

However, compared to the 240, you have some things to consider.
1. Screen size (13.3" vs 12.5")
2. Intel HD 4400 vs HD 5000 (5000 is better). thought this might not matter
3. Screen resolution (1440*900 vs 1366*768).

The Air has a bigger screen, better graphics and better screen.
It's cheaper, and a lot less weight. And the battery is still best in class.

 

[motrek]

It really varies, but you'll get a good 10-12 hours browsing the internet (provided you use Safari). ...
1. Screen size (13.3" vs 12.5")
2. Intel HD 4400 vs HD 5000 (5000 is better). thought this might not matter
3. Screen resolution (1440*900 vs 1366*768). ...

He's looking at the 11" model. So some of these numbers will be different. The smaller Air gets somewhat less battery life.

 

[joshlalonde]

He's looking at the 11" model. So some of these numbers will be different. The smaller Air gets somewhat less battery life.

DUH! Sorry, I got distracted and forgot that it was 11".

Hmm.. well battery is about 10 hours or so. It's EVEN LIGHTER, and I believe it would be a great laptop to have. Super powerful, and in such a small package.

The other I wouldn't recommend for multiple reasons:
- Microsoft Windows
- not light whatsoever. looks rather thick, and heavy. so it wouldn't be nice on your lap.

The air is definitely my recommendation. Plus, you can do a lot of work on it if you so please. Just consider getting a display adapter so you can hook it up to a monitor.

The other has more battery, but idk. it comes down to what's more important. 10 hours is still going to get your through the day. 20 hours is a bit insane. you'd get more than 10 hours with reading, if u turn off wifi.