Hi! Need your advice and experience in the portable market.
I don't want to compare one OS against the other, but Macbook hardware vs any ultrabook hardware. I know what I'm in for, should I choose one OS or the other, and I'm not particularly drawn to one or the other. I don't dislike the idea of going OS X as this will mainly be for very casual use, and I already use part of Apple's ecosystem with my iPhone and my girlfriend's iPad. On the other hand, I don't dislike the idea of remaining with Windows for my computers neither, I could easily export part of my PC and favorite apps to the laptop and have the latter become an extension of my desktop. I also am intrigued with what Windows 8 could become using a touch display - though it won't factor much in my decision, I can live without that.
What I'm clear about though is that, if it's not a Macbook, I want one of the most advanced ultrabook you can get that fits in a budget somewhere around 1500$ (or less). I don't really need it to be that powerful, but I want to keep it for quite some time and it must stay sharp for casual use. I also want a good resolution. No need to be retina of course, nor even full HD, HD+ is enough of a good resolution. The battery would need to be serviceable, even if its not user serviceable. Which is my first concern : I know that with Apple I could have it changed for about 150$... What do you guys know about other mfgs? Most of them Ultrabooks aren't user serviceable neither, so I need to pick one that is serviceable at least in a professional center. Do you know about any brand I should avoid in this regard, for some reason?
My other concern is what I've gathered through many reviews from many sources about Ultrabooks... There always seems to be a major drawback, one that usually pretty much all sources echo on. One drawback that seems to come back often among what's considered the best offers out there is about the trackpad. For example, I've read great reviews about the Asus UX31A, but as for the trackpad it seems that it ranges from "wonky" to "mediocre". With Samsung series 9, I gathered that the trackpad has been a problem since the beginning. When it's not the trackpad then it's shallow keyboard keys, or stiff, unresponsive buttons, or mediocre battery life. I was surprised to find that this trackpad problem did not come across as much in reviews about "cheaper" options - though these are plagued with lesser performance and lesser displays, and poor keyboards with no backlight.
There I come back to the Macbooks : I don't want to boost Apple any more than necessary, I don't swear by them, but still one has to admit that you usually don't find those kind of drawbacks in Macbooks reviews, even from sources that are unbiased or PC-dedicated. I also know for a fact that the Macbooks trackpad is pretty much state of the art, that the gestures are effective and well implemented in OS X, and that the overall use is deemed highly satisfactory. And that's exactly what I want, a product that looks sharp, works fast, and that you can interact with seamlessly.
And then there are things even worse than a messy trackpad, if possible. The SSD used in many of the Samsung NP900X4C tested was barely writing as fast as a 7200 RPM HDD. The Toshiba Portege Z935, for example, costs way less and had results up to five times better in writing tests (but sports a very ordinary display). Questioned about this, Samsung reps replied that other consumers would not have such poor results because they also used SSDs from other manufacturers across production. What kind of answer is that? I was highly interested with Samsung's ultrabooks, but this, coupled with a one year warranty and a customer service known to be crappy, is making me doubt.
In the end, even if I instantly favored the NP900X4C or the UX31A, as much for the looks as for the specs, I always come back to the Macbooks... I hate that Apple makes it necessary to pay at least 500$ more for the same configuration you'll find elsewhere on the market, but at least I know I'll be satisfied with it. It's just that I don't want to turn my back on ultrabooks yet, not based on reviews that look for the tiniest fault to exploit and show that they know the drill, and the more I think of it the more I'd like to keep Apple limited to iOS devices (which I love once they are jailbroken), and go Windows all the way with my computers. And quite frankly, as much as I care for hardware that has proven to be highly satisfactory, I can't imagine having to deal with App Store anymore than I have to do now... Can't get that Samsung out of my head, neither. Supposedly the trackpad felt much smoother on the upcoming new series 7 Ultra at C.E.S., specs are looking quite good, too, and it will sport a full HD 10-finger multi-touch display...
I don't want to compare one OS against the other, but Macbook hardware vs any ultrabook hardware. I know what I'm in for, should I choose one OS or the other, and I'm not particularly drawn to one or the other. I don't dislike the idea of going OS X as this will mainly be for very casual use, and I already use part of Apple's ecosystem with my iPhone and my girlfriend's iPad. On the other hand, I don't dislike the idea of remaining with Windows for my computers neither, I could easily export part of my PC and favorite apps to the laptop and have the latter become an extension of my desktop. I also am intrigued with what Windows 8 could become using a touch display - though it won't factor much in my decision, I can live without that.
What I'm clear about though is that, if it's not a Macbook, I want one of the most advanced ultrabook you can get that fits in a budget somewhere around 1500$ (or less). I don't really need it to be that powerful, but I want to keep it for quite some time and it must stay sharp for casual use. I also want a good resolution. No need to be retina of course, nor even full HD, HD+ is enough of a good resolution. The battery would need to be serviceable, even if its not user serviceable. Which is my first concern : I know that with Apple I could have it changed for about 150$... What do you guys know about other mfgs? Most of them Ultrabooks aren't user serviceable neither, so I need to pick one that is serviceable at least in a professional center. Do you know about any brand I should avoid in this regard, for some reason?
My other concern is what I've gathered through many reviews from many sources about Ultrabooks... There always seems to be a major drawback, one that usually pretty much all sources echo on. One drawback that seems to come back often among what's considered the best offers out there is about the trackpad. For example, I've read great reviews about the Asus UX31A, but as for the trackpad it seems that it ranges from "wonky" to "mediocre". With Samsung series 9, I gathered that the trackpad has been a problem since the beginning. When it's not the trackpad then it's shallow keyboard keys, or stiff, unresponsive buttons, or mediocre battery life. I was surprised to find that this trackpad problem did not come across as much in reviews about "cheaper" options - though these are plagued with lesser performance and lesser displays, and poor keyboards with no backlight.
There I come back to the Macbooks : I don't want to boost Apple any more than necessary, I don't swear by them, but still one has to admit that you usually don't find those kind of drawbacks in Macbooks reviews, even from sources that are unbiased or PC-dedicated. I also know for a fact that the Macbooks trackpad is pretty much state of the art, that the gestures are effective and well implemented in OS X, and that the overall use is deemed highly satisfactory. And that's exactly what I want, a product that looks sharp, works fast, and that you can interact with seamlessly.
And then there are things even worse than a messy trackpad, if possible. The SSD used in many of the Samsung NP900X4C tested was barely writing as fast as a 7200 RPM HDD. The Toshiba Portege Z935, for example, costs way less and had results up to five times better in writing tests (but sports a very ordinary display). Questioned about this, Samsung reps replied that other consumers would not have such poor results because they also used SSDs from other manufacturers across production. What kind of answer is that? I was highly interested with Samsung's ultrabooks, but this, coupled with a one year warranty and a customer service known to be crappy, is making me doubt.
In the end, even if I instantly favored the NP900X4C or the UX31A, as much for the looks as for the specs, I always come back to the Macbooks... I hate that Apple makes it necessary to pay at least 500$ more for the same configuration you'll find elsewhere on the market, but at least I know I'll be satisfied with it. It's just that I don't want to turn my back on ultrabooks yet, not based on reviews that look for the tiniest fault to exploit and show that they know the drill, and the more I think of it the more I'd like to keep Apple limited to iOS devices (which I love once they are jailbroken), and go Windows all the way with my computers. And quite frankly, as much as I care for hardware that has proven to be highly satisfactory, I can't imagine having to deal with App Store anymore than I have to do now... Can't get that Samsung out of my head, neither. Supposedly the trackpad felt much smoother on the upcoming new series 7 Ultra at C.E.S., specs are looking quite good, too, and it will sport a full HD 10-finger multi-touch display...
