6 ms·

But at those prices, why not just get a MacBook Air? Sure, the build quality of the Zenbook is getting close to that of a MBA, but it's still has a ways to go y

by dntrkv 13y ago

But at those prices, why not just get a MacBook Air? Sure, the build quality of the Zenbook is getting close to that of a MBA, but it's still has a ways to go yet it costs the same (or even more). Sure, it may have better specs, but really, for most people's use cases, the MBA is more than fast enough.

dublinben 13y ago
Why should the MacBook Air be the default choice? Most people don't want to run OS X, they want to run Windows. A notebook designed to run Windows will do so better than one that's been highly optimized by a competitor.
rogerbinns 13y ago
My Thinkpad T430s let me change the memory to that of my choosing, add an mSATA stick of my choosing, change hard drives of my choosing, has an extra mini-pci slot, expresscard slot, supports Linux well, replace the DVD drive with another battery, and has a superb online manual that lets me (or anyone else) make any repairs or updates. At the end of the day it is my machine to do with as I please. Apple's stuff not so much.
- mercurial 13y ago
  Other happy T430 user here. You forgot to mention the stellar keyboard and trackpoint. And yes, it's very easy to disassemble. On the other hand, it is a full laptop, not really an ultrabook. But I wouldn't trade it for Apple hardware.
- onosendai 13y ago
  I've been using an X230 as my personal laptop for a while and I absolutely love it. Comparing it to my work T430, it's smaller, with a vastly better screen (IPS, albeit lower resolution) and on the whole it doesn't make too many compromises versus the T series. I second the Lenovo service manuals. Behind the excellent Linux support they're the reason I buy Thinkpads. Not only can you completely disassemble them, reading through their service manuals it's almost like Lenovo encourages you to do it. Compared to this, a teardown of the 2013 Macbook Air makes for some pretty depressing reading: soldered RAM, proprietary SSD modules, proprietary screws, etc. I get why people buy the Air and Ultrabooks, but I'm glad the T and X series are still around and still dependable workhorses that you can service yourself with nothing more complicated than a swiss army knife.
- gcb1 13y ago
  reason i never bought lenovos: i cant see them before i buy. takes a month or more to arrive. you cant return if you dont like, despite no showroom.
dman 13y ago
You give good reasons why someone might want to buy the Zenbook over the Air and then ask why anyone would want to?
phaus 13y ago
There are more than a few ultra-books that are widely considered to be on par with apple in terms of build quality, its just that you'd have a hell of a time getting an Apple user to admit it even if he held it in his hands. That's just human nature. The Acer Aspire S7, the Lenovo X230, the Lenovo X1 Carbon, the Ativ Book 9 Plus, the Lenovo T440s, the Sony Vaio Duo 13, the Asus Zenbook Infinity UX301LA. Most of these come with Full HD or better IPS panels too. You can find something wrong with any product, but it stands to reason that a person who has lived with Apple's faults for a long time is likely to have grown more forgiving of them due to familiarity. Therefore, when that person sees a competing product that isn't absolutely flawless, he may be more critical of it than he would be of a new Apple product.

by dntrkv 13y ago

dublinben 13y ago

Why should the MacBook Air be the default choice? Most people don't want to run OS X, they want to run Windows. A notebook designed to run Windows will do so better than one that's been highly optimized by a competitor.

rogerbinns 13y ago

My Thinkpad T430s let me change the memory to that of my choosing, add an mSATA stick of my choosing, change hard drives of my choosing, has an extra mini-pci slot, expresscard slot, supports Linux well, replace the DVD drive with another battery, and has a superb online manual that lets me (or anyone else) make any repairs or updates. At the end of the day it is my machine to do with as I please. Apple's stuff not so much.

mercurial 13y ago
Other happy T430 user here. You forgot to mention the stellar keyboard and trackpoint. And yes, it's very easy to disassemble. On the other hand, it is a full laptop, not really an ultrabook. But I wouldn't trade it for Apple hardware.
onosendai 13y ago
I've been using an X230 as my personal laptop for a while and I absolutely love it. Comparing it to my work T430, it's smaller, with a vastly better screen (IPS, albeit lower resolution) and on the whole it doesn't make too many compromises versus the T series. I second the Lenovo service manuals. Behind the excellent Linux support they're the reason I buy Thinkpads. Not only can you completely disassemble them, reading through their service manuals it's almost like Lenovo encourages you to do it. Compared to this, a teardown of the 2013 Macbook Air makes for some pretty depressing reading: soldered RAM, proprietary SSD modules, proprietary screws, etc. I get why people buy the Air and Ultrabooks, but I'm glad the T and X series are still around and still dependable workhorses that you can service yourself with nothing more complicated than a swiss army knife.
gcb1 13y ago
reason i never bought lenovos: i cant see them before i buy. takes a month or more to arrive. you cant return if you dont like, despite no showroom.

dman 13y ago

You give good reasons why someone might want to buy the Zenbook over the Air and then ask why anyone would want to?

phaus 13y ago

There are more than a few ultra-books that are widely considered to be on par with apple in terms of build quality, its just that you'd have a hell of a time getting an Apple user to admit it even if he held it in his hands. That's just human nature. The Acer Aspire S7, the Lenovo X230, the Lenovo X1 Carbon, the Ativ Book 9 Plus, the Lenovo T440s, the Sony Vaio Duo 13, the Asus Zenbook Infinity UX301LA. Most of these come with Full HD or better IPS panels too. You can find something wrong with any product, but it stands to reason that a person who has lived with Apple's faults for a long time is likely to have grown more forgiving of them due to familiarity. Therefore, when that person sees a competing product that isn't absolutely flawless, he may be more critical of it than he would be of a new Apple product.