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PC ultrabooks, would you switch?

Oppressed

Oppressed

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Aug 15, 2010
1,265
10
PC makers are working on making Macbook Air equivalent PC's with similar price points. Wether or not this will actually happen is another debate, but if PC makers were able to make an ultra book that not only offered what the Air had but also included say a desecrate graphics chip, more battery life, larger SSD's, etc would you make the switch?


This isn't directed to any fan boys. To be honest I'm not interested in hearing "Mac OSX or GTFO".
 
There are already ultraportables similar to MBA, e.g. Samsung 9-series. However, they are more expensive in general and also wore than MBA is many areas (e.g. no similar resolution, smaller SSDs etc.).

At this point, I would say MBA is the best ultraportable in the market. That is why I bought the 2010 model last November, there was no real competition. If another brand offered a better product at better price, then I wouldn't hesitate to buy one. I'm not a brand or OS whore and don't even want to be one. I'm always open for options.
 
Yeah Samsung Series 9 was close, but in the end couldn't hold a candle to it. I'm interested in hearing about ASUS' and HP's upcoming ultra books.
 
Per Engadget:
http://www.engadget.com/2011/07/27/ultrabooks-to-start-arriving-in-september-more-expensive-than-e/

"To make matters worse, it seems those promised sub $1,000 price points were a bit optimistic. ASUS told the Taipei Times that its UX line would only be able to hit such a price using slower Core i3 chips -- upgrading to a Core i5 and sticking in an SSD would push the price towards the $2,000 mark."
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No way at $2000.

If it's $1200-1500 and there is discrete graphics (a decent chip) along with 256SSD and great build quality maybe.
 
stevenpa said:
If it's $1200-1500 and there is discrete graphics (a decent chip) along with 256SSD and great build quality maybe.
Click to expand...

It's funny because when you put it like that I almost feel bad for the PC makers and what they have to produce to compete with the MBA.
 
There's more to a computer than just specs and clock speed.

Personally I don't care if there's a 4GHz WindowsBook Air with 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD and super nvidia 990x-somethin' somethin' graphics. I prefer to use OS X.
 
xraydoc said:
There's more to a computer than just specs and clock speed.

Personally I don't care if there's a 4GHz WindowsBook Air with 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD and super nvidia 990x-somethin' somethin' graphics. I prefer to use OS X.
Click to expand...

End of thread really, I am the same, Apple has the interface nailed thanks to iOS for smaller screens. Windows may have more features, but it's just so much more "clunky" to navigate about in my personal opinion.
 
Like it has been said: Samsung failed hard, coz for same price as MBA u get lower spec ( and i mean much lower, coz core i3 really sux without turbo ).

Asus just broke the promise of 899 $ saying to keep it under thousand they should use i3 too :confused:
 
I don't think I would ever switch to an ultrabook because I prefer to use OSX, and I doubt that many of them would approach the build quality of Macs. However, the powerdock that one Sony ultrabook has makes me wish there was a Mac equivalent. Maybe there will be a third party one?
 
I bought the MBA for the eco system firstly, and because it is so cool secondly. Take away the eco system, and you are left with something that just looks cool but doesn't work well.

Now, with that said, this is my first Mac, and while I love it to death...I'm worried the Mac App store isn't going to take off (pretty meh right now). This would be a real damper on the switch.

Maybe I need to break out my Xcode and help!
 
You buy a Mac not only for the hardware, but the Operating System. The fact that OSX is only available on a Mac, would mean I just could not switch.

I fix a lot of PC software that has become broken for folks - that's enough of windows I can handle....
 
I bet the PC makers have been trying very hard though they should know the problem lies in the Microsoft OS - say, Windows 7.

No matter how the PC manufacturer implement the gestures(scrolls, point 'n' click, etc), they are not as powerful or as fluid as in the Mac OS.

The Lion has the full screen apps and switching between screen is useful/essential for ultraportable (read small screen). So I for one won't switch to ultraportables unless Windows 8 has made good enough improvement in the area of gestures.
 
Samsung 9 is not even close. I have it and I am returning it as soon as I get my stuff off. I have 13 inch Macbook air and I am happy.

Samsung series 9 costs whopping 1499 dollars. It says slower processor than MBA. I also hate micro SD card slot instead of SD card slot.

Trackpad is nowhere near apple's MacBooks.

Like the design, but picks up about 1000000 finger prints.


Bottom line, this thing blows.
 
alau0115 said:
The Lion has the full screen apps and switching between screen is useful/essential for ultraportable (read small screen). So I for one won't switch to ultraportables unless Windows 8 has made good enough improvement in the area of gestures.
Click to expand...

I agree that the full screen apps are the best thing to come to the 11 inch airs in a long time. Easily makes up for the limited space.
 
xraydoc said:
There's more to a computer than just specs and clock speed.

Personally I don't care if there's a 4GHz WindowsBook Air with 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD and super nvidia 990x-somethin' somethin' graphics. I prefer to use OS X.
Click to expand...

Elven said:
End of thread really, I am the same, Apple has the interface nailed thanks to iOS for smaller screens. Windows may have more features, but it's just so much more "clunky" to navigate about in my personal opinion.
Click to expand...


These quotes sum it up. I'm a new OSX user with only 2 weeks in with my new MBA. OSX feels more polished, intuitive, and stable than any Win31-win7 box I've owned. It has the "This just feels right and logical" feel that my iPhone and iPad have.
 
I like that Intel is advancing the Ultrabook specification, because they have committed to lowering the TDP of their processor line. That means better processors and better graphics without the heat and hit to battery life. More participants also means more innovation. That said, I like the MacBook Air, and something tells me that the original "Ultrabook" will still be the best. (I realize that there were ultraportables before the MacBook Air, but it was the success of the 2010 MacBook Air that led to the Ultrabook concept).
 
neile45 said:
I'm new to OS X, and I loved Windows 7. I like both of them, OSX seems simpler, but I like that I can put W7 on the MBA if I want to, which I probably will.
Click to expand...

I'm finding that 7 is running much cooler than Lion. A LOT cooler. Only thing holding me back from having 7 being the sole OS on my MBA is the trackpad support on 7.
 
pc vs. mac

I've been using pc's my entire life, however, when the 2011 MBA came out last month, it inspired me to go out and buy it. the sheer thinness, power, and smoothness are things that are not seen in the the PC/Windows world. like other people have said, PC's have to tried to emulate the Air, however, these devices, such as the seires 9 and Sony's Vaio Z, fail to have both the well-rounded physique and hardware that the Air so easily displays (not to mention they are more expensive). As of right now... the 2011 MBA is pure genius and blows away anything in the compact notebook category.
 
entatlrg said:
No knock off's and windows crap for me, been there done that. Lenovo, Dell, HP ETC a bad joke in my personal experiences ... , Lenovo screens, Dell junk, HP hard drives ... never again.
Click to expand...

Lenovo x220 IPS >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>MBA's TN
 
oBMTo said:
Lenovo x220 IPS >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>MBA's TN
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I agree and the new Sony Z is a monster!

But it also cost as much as a fully loaded 15' MBP..

I really wish Apple used USB 3.0 with thunderbolt like Sony.. Oh well.
 
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