Laptop recommendation

[suvinay]

Hi,

I am looking to buy a laptop and am currently choosing between the following:
1. Asus Zenbook Prime UX31A
2. Lenovo ThinkPad Carbon X1
3. Lenovo ThinkPad X230
(4. Samsung Series 7/9 13")

In terms of preferences:
(a) Looks: I don't care about looks (all things being equal I would pick the better looking one )
(b) Display: I am comfortable with 13" size, and would prefer a screen with wide viewing angles.
(c) Battery life: Longer battery life preferred - ~ 5-6 hrs
(d) Physical dimensions: Prefer a laptop under or around 3.5 lbs; no preference on thickness (not particularly concerned if it is Macbook Air thin)
(e) Usability: Good keyboard, good trackpad - I spend a lot of time coding, browsing the web
(f) Gaming, graphics: I don't game, so don't care about that. Should be able to play HD movies, do some light photoediting.
(g) Price: Not a primary constraint

After going through several reviews, I understand that the Zenbook Prime has an unreliable trackpad. Other than that, it seems like a great choice. The Carbon X1 is my preference for now, since it appears to have great build quality, a wonderful keyboard and decent trackpad too. The display seems to be great (14" with wide viewing angles), and it is ultra light and sleek. The X230 is a true workhorse providing excellent battery life and a great keyboard. However the display is 12.5" (sub-optimal, but okay) and the resolution is not particularly great. Reviews also point out that the trackpad is small and not very reliable.

In the short term, I would be happy to get the X1 carbon. It fits all my requirements - 4-5 hr batt life realistically is good enough for me. But I am concerned that the battery life might wane with usage, and I would like to use the laptop for 3 yrs atleast. The X230 is appealing on this front, since the battery life it sports is high + I can replace the battery if ever needed. The two reasons preventing me from getting the X230 are the trackpad and display. I am willing to have a 12.5" display with lesser resolution; can anyone comment on the trackpad usability?

Other options I considered were: HP Folio 13 (heavier than X1 carbon + I don't like the keyboard -- personal preference from using HP laptops), Portege Z935 (screen is apparently very flimsy, prefer sturdier build), HP Envy spectre (thoughts on this one?).

I am also considering the Samsung Series 7/9 (13") - I prefer the Lenovo build quality over Samsung (personal preference) + I like the big arrow keys on the X1, compared to the tiny ones on Samsung.

Would love to get your thoughts.

Thank You!

 

[Talaii]

The trackpad on the X230 is apparently pretty dismal, but it has a trackpoint (which takes some getting used to, but is very nice once you do). I have one of the new Thinkpad Edge laptops (the Edge E130, which isn't available in the US); and as far as I'm aware it has the same trackpad, and I avoid using it at all whenever possible. Which is most of the time - I use it occasionally for gestures, but for general mousing and scrolling the trackpoint is much nicer.

Apart from the trackpad, it sounds like the x230 is exactly what you want - it isn't much heavier with the default battery - difference is about 100g - than the X1 carbon, just thicker; and it has more replaceable parts (mini-PCIe slot for either a 3g dongle or a mSATA SSD, easily replaceable RAM and 7mm hard disk); it has a better CPU (35W dual-core ivy bridge vs 17W ultrabook chip, so much higher frequencies) and is cheaper. The screen is lower resolution, but the DPI is similar to the X1 Carbon (125 for the x230, 131 for the X1C), and the upgraded screen is an IPS panel with great viewing angles and good contrast/colours. It also has a good keyboard - a thicker frame means more keyboard depth, which is a good thing. It's also a lot cheaper than the X1C - you can get a fully kitted out x230 for well under $1k (assuming you're in the US) with the Barnes and Noble discounts.

If you really wanted a higher-res IPS panel, the Zenbook Prime is probably your best choice. It's a nice looking laptop, but personally I'd prefer the x230 - it's not as pretty, but it has replaceable everything, and thinkpads are well-known for their sturdiness.

 

[TheStu]

So you are looking in the 13" size range? If you already have a license for Windows you could always get the 13" MacBook Air. Has a better trackpad than any of your options, and one of the better keyboards out there. Screen quality is quite good, but not as good as the Zenbook's IPS display (that thing is nice).

Or, wait about a week and see if Apple releases a 13" Retina MacBook Pro. That will blow just about any other option out of the water (depending on cost of course).