3 ms·

"By double the mass, do you mean double the volume?" Yes, that is what I meant. My bad. "The latitude (or equivalent models) is thicker, but I see a benefit w

"By double the mass, do you mean double the volume?" Yes, that is what I meant. My bad. "The latitude (or equivalent models) is thicker, but I see a benefit with removal battery, HD, etc. I'm not seeing as strong a benefit with thinness." I don't see the benefits of having removable batteries and storage in an ultraportable. Why buy a light notebook when you're also planning to carry extra batteries and hard disks? To me, that defeats the purpose. Low volume and low weight are the key characteristics of ultraportables. I want a light notebook I can put in my backpack with plenty of space to spare, not a notebook I need to carry in a separate suitcase because it's so bulky. The reality is, I could put two MacBook Airs in my backpack and they still wouldn't take up as much space as your E4300 does. But from what I gather, you never really wanted an ultraportable, you want a mobile workstation. "it is possible to get PC laptops on deep discounts and upgrade for far less than a manufacturer charges. I snagged mine in July '09 for $700. Doubled battery power for another $70" That explains why the model isn't around anymore, doesn't it? Also why IBM sold its PC business and why HP is trying to do the same.

usaar333 15y ago
I always wanted a super lightweight laptop that could serve as my sole laptop, which my current one fulfills. Extra batteries are for the occasional long periods without power (oversees flights, traveling in rural areas, etc.), though yes that is a 5% of the time use case. A modifiable HD is simply there to allow upgrades; I easily moved from an HDD to an SSD and could upgrade to a larger SSD easily in the future. Thanks for pointing out the backpack space advantage. To be honest, I've so rarely ever had a problem with backpack space (probably less often than needing extra battery power), it hadn't crossed my mind. (looking at the numbers, it makes sense I rarely run into such an issue: a 13" Air is 12.8"x8.94"x0.68"= 77.8 in^3 and a dell latitude is 12.2"8.6"x1.1"=115.4 in^3, a difference of 38 in^3. School backpacks typically have capacities 40 times that difference.) The price effect sucks for manufacturers, but is great for consumers. :) Truth be told, older Core 2 Duo machines will work fine for most people; my laptop might be old but I find there little reason to upgrade until there are reasonably priced, equally light laptops that can A) play modern games or B) operate at way lower power levels.
- Samuel_Michon 15y ago
  "my laptop might be old but I find there little reason to upgrade" I hope you didn't get the impression I was dissing your computer, I bet it works great for you. It just wouldn't qualify as an 'ultraportable' or 'ultrabook' by today's standards, and that's what we were talking about. I do feel I need to point out the following: "a 13" Air is 12.8"x8.94"x0.68"= 77.8 in^3 and a dell latitude is 12.2"8.6"x1.1"=115.4 in^3, a difference of 38 in^3." MacBook Air is wedge shaped, it tapers evenly from 0.68 inch to 0.11 inch. So its volume is actually 35.6 cubic inches (11.8"x7.56"x0.4"). Your notebook takes up more than 3 times as much space. No clue how big a typical school backpack is, but my Emerica backpack is 17.5"x12"x6"= 1260 cubic inches. It would fit your notebook, but not much else.
  - usaar333 15y ago
    Oh I meant the upgrade thing as applying to the industry in general. Savvy customers can get very good machines for under $400 these days if they are willing to get used/refurbished. My bad. I didn't realize the tapering. By the dimensions, I'm guessing you have an 11", but I see how the 13" is actually only 46 in^3, making my laptop 2.5x larger by volume. That said your backpack should be able to hold 10 of my laptops, well, with perfect packing. :)

usaar333 15y ago

I always wanted a super lightweight laptop that could serve as my sole laptop, which my current one fulfills. Extra batteries are for the occasional long periods without power (oversees flights, traveling in rural areas, etc.), though yes that is a 5% of the time use case. A modifiable HD is simply there to allow upgrades; I easily moved from an HDD to an SSD and could upgrade to a larger SSD easily in the future. Thanks for pointing out the backpack space advantage. To be honest, I've so rarely ever had a problem with backpack space (probably less often than needing extra battery power), it hadn't crossed my mind. (looking at the numbers, it makes sense I rarely run into such an issue: a 13" Air is 12.8"x8.94"x0.68"= 77.8 in^3 and a dell latitude is 12.2"8.6"x1.1"=115.4 in^3, a difference of 38 in^3. School backpacks typically have capacities 40 times that difference.) The price effect sucks for manufacturers, but is great for consumers. :) Truth be told, older Core 2 Duo machines will work fine for most people; my laptop might be old but I find there little reason to upgrade until there are reasonably priced, equally light laptops that can A) play modern games or B) operate at way lower power levels.

Samuel_Michon 15y ago
"my laptop might be old but I find there little reason to upgrade" I hope you didn't get the impression I was dissing your computer, I bet it works great for you. It just wouldn't qualify as an 'ultraportable' or 'ultrabook' by today's standards, and that's what we were talking about. I do feel I need to point out the following: "a 13" Air is 12.8"x8.94"x0.68"= 77.8 in^3 and a dell latitude is 12.2"8.6"x1.1"=115.4 in^3, a difference of 38 in^3." MacBook Air is wedge shaped, it tapers evenly from 0.68 inch to 0.11 inch. So its volume is actually 35.6 cubic inches (11.8"x7.56"x0.4"). Your notebook takes up more than 3 times as much space. No clue how big a typical school backpack is, but my Emerica backpack is 17.5"x12"x6"= 1260 cubic inches. It would fit your notebook, but not much else.
- usaar333 15y ago
  Oh I meant the upgrade thing as applying to the industry in general. Savvy customers can get very good machines for under $400 these days if they are willing to get used/refurbished. My bad. I didn't realize the tapering. By the dimensions, I'm guessing you have an 11", but I see how the 13" is actually only 46 in^3, making my laptop 2.5x larger by volume. That said your backpack should be able to hold 10 of my laptops, well, with perfect packing. :)