Still waiting for the perfect Ultrabook....but almost there I hope..

[Silenus]

SO close but no one has it just the right combo for me yet. But according to Intel there are 75 more Ultrabooks coming this year so I am still hopefull:

All I want:
1) 13-14" DECENT display at least 1600/1440x900 (doesn't have to be IPS but has to be decent on color and viewing angle, at least as good as MBA). Why do SO many manufactures not get this? So many displays are just bottom of the barrel TRASH.
2) Backlit keyboard
3) SD card reader
4) USB 3 (thunderbolt a bonus cause it's cool, but not necessary)
5) Reasonably decent trackpad (again MBA like would be nice)

I haven't required a set price but really....anything over $1300 is just too much for the above. Is that too much to ask?!

 

[saratoga172]

I've been really impressed with the MBA and mbp laptops i've used. Especially the newer ones. Go with something like that?

 

[Silenus]

I've been really impressed with the MBA and mbp laptops i've used. Especially the newer ones. Go with something like that?

Funny you say that. After all the new Ultrabook stuff that already been released...for my list of requirements an MBA is STILL a better Ultrabook than an Ultrabook. lol. Problem is I want to run windows due to various photo editing software I have. Yes bootcamp I know but that will eat heavily into the already small SSD's. Also no USB3 on macs which would really be much more immediately useful to me than thunderbolt.

 

[LuluTheMonk]

Samsung series 9 15" looks promising. Too bad it won't be out in time before I need a new laptop.

 

[Zap]

Except for not meeting #1 and technically not being an Ultrabook, I've been really pleased with my Dell Vostro V131. The display also really isn't that bad if you aren't the picky type. Yes, I have some great displays at home so I know what the look like (main display is Samsung 305T Plus). The touchpad is nice and large. Keyboard is backlit on the Core i5 units, not backlit on Celeron units and IDK on Core i3 units. It has an SD card reader and USB 3.0. It is 4 pounds with the 6-cell battery that gives 9 hours. The battery juts out the bottom rear, otherwise it is only 0.9" thick or so (just over the Ultrabook "limit"). There is a 4-cell battery which does not stick out and makes it lighter. I put an SSD in mine (normal 9.5" thick, SATA 6Gb/s port).

Best thing is that there's a coupon code for 20% off Vostro laptops at Dell Outlet. Add another 5% cashback from Shop Discover and the Celeron models were going for $285 and highest end Core i5 for $460. These are all dual core Sandy Bridge. The Celeron is an ULV version.

 

[akonobi2011]

SO close but no one has it just the right combo for me yet. But according to Intel there are 75 more Ultrabooks coming this year so I am still hopefull:

All I want:
1) 13-14" DECENT display at least 1600/1440x900 (doesn't have to be IPS but has to be decent on color and viewing angle, at least as good as MBA). Why do SO many manufactures not get this? So many displays are just bottom of the barrel TRASH.
2) Backlit keyboard
3) SD card reader
4) USB 3 (thunderbolt a bonus cause it's cool, but not necessary)
5) Reasonably decent trackpad (again MBA like would be nice)

I haven't required a set price but really....anything over $1300 is just too much for the above. Is that too much to ask?!

I guess you've already taken a look at the Asus Zenbook UX31E-DH72.
It has all the stuff you just listed except the price is over $1300 I think. Display quality may be a matter of opinion though I've read good things about it.

 

[Emulex]

the retina displays will be worth the apple wait. 2560x1440 (or more) in 15" 3.5lb package? i'd take 1920x1080 in 11" for 2.5lb macbook air too for the go. thank god we'll finally see retina dpi on macbooks. this of course will keep the apple product far advanced over the rest of the world once again.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

the retina displays will be worth the apple wait. 2560x1440 (or more) in 15" 3.5lb package? i'd take 1920x1080 in 11" for 2.5lb macbook air too for the go. thank god we'll finally see retina dpi on macbooks. this of course will keep the apple product far advanced over the rest of the world once again.

Whoa, seriously? Retina displays on a Macbook Air? When?

Damn, Apple really f*cking gets it. Now I just wish the SSDs and memory were user upgradeable.

 

[TheStu]

Whoa, seriously? Retina displays on a Macbook Air? When?

Damn, Apple really f*cking gets it. Now I just wish the SSDs and memory were user upgradeable.

The SSDs are user replaceable, they just aren't a super-standard uh, standard. From what I have seen a few of the new 'ultrabooks' are using them (look as the Asus one especially) and you can get after-market Sandforce based ones from OWC. I am probably going to go the system pull route to try and get a samsung 128GB off of ebay to upgrade from the 64gb in my Air.

The RAM... yea that is soldered. The only way to let it be upgradeable would have been to cut into the battery life or make it thicker and Apple was evidently unwilling to do that. I think that some of the new thin&lights do allow it though.

 

[paperwastage]

Whoa, seriously? Retina displays on a Macbook Air? When?

Damn, Apple really f*cking gets it. Now I just wish the SSDs and memory were user upgradeable.

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other World Computing/SSDAPE6G480/

480GB MBA SSD for $1150 if you so wish

 

[Silenus]

the retina displays will be worth the apple wait. 2560x1440 (or more) in 15" 3.5lb package? i'd take 1920x1080 in 11" for 2.5lb macbook air too for the go. thank god we'll finally see retina dpi on macbooks. this of course will keep the apple product far advanced over the rest of the world once again.

If they seriously do this in the Ivy Bridge AIR's...I would SO buy one. If only Windows did really proper DPI scaling than I'd even run 7 on it.

 

[Herr Kutz]

SO close but no one has it just the right combo for me yet. But according to Intel there are 75 more Ultrabooks coming this year so I am still hopefull:

All I want:
1) 13-14" DECENT display at least 1600/1440x900 (doesn't have to be IPS but has to be decent on color and viewing angle, at least as good as MBA). Why do SO many manufactures not get this? So many displays are just bottom of the barrel TRASH.
2) Backlit keyboard
3) SD card reader
4) USB 3 (thunderbolt a bonus cause it's cool, but not necessary)
5) Reasonably decent trackpad (again MBA like would be nice)

I haven't required a set price but really....anything over $1300 is just too much for the above. Is that too much to ask?!

Other than the high price, the samsung series 9 15" looks nearly ideal imho. It is supposed to have a 15" screen in the size of a 14" laptop (small bezel) and weigh about 3.3 pounds.

http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/10/spotted-the-elusive-15-inch-samsung-series-9/
http://www.jr.com/samsung/pe/SAM_NP900X4BA02/