Farewell to Haswell? Which Ultrabook?

KingL

I've needed a new lappy since June but have been holding back, based on the internet's cries of "wait for Haswell".
I'm going on a long trip abroad in a couple of weeks and I can't wait any longer. The couple of Haswell Ultrabooks that are out now don't meet all my requirements, so I'm thinking I'm going to have to compromise on something.

These are my thoughts - am I missing a killer deal/system somewhere? I'd welcome any comments/suggestions.


- - -

I was going to go for a higher end spec. Not because I need it, but more for future proofing. I probably
won't buy another lappy for 5+ years so want a spec that will run whatever boatware they are bringing out in 2020.


All I really _need_ is a 13 or 14" lightweight (preferably <1.4kg) modern machine with three USB ports and a decent amount of discspace (say 256GB, or more).

What I've been looking for is a Core i5 (or up) Haswell with 4 or 8 GB of RAM. 3xUSB ports. Win 8 with touchscreen.

I'm not fussed about dedicated graphics (no gaming). I'm a bit flexible on screen resolution, boot time, battery life and whether the USBs are super-fast or not, but obviously the better, the better. The more storage the better, but going to spinny-HDDs seems to push the weight over the edge.

I could stretch to £1000, but would prefer cheaper.


It seems that this elusive beast doesn't exist. The current Haswell machines only have 2xUSBs

- - -

So if I have to compromise, these are what I'm looking at:


1) Compromise on weight requirement
Levono Ideapad u330 Touch 1.75kg, with spinny disc


2) Compromise on number of USBs
I'm trying to convince myself I can use a SD card for my off-machine Trucrypt/password drive and so go down to 2 USBs. I guess this would point at the Sony Vaio Pro 13 Like the weight, but I'm a bit worried about reports of a a bendy keyboard and long-term lifespan concerns.
The Acer S7 doesn't seem to be out yet, despite the "now available" article from early August.

I'm also drawnt to the sexy Levono Yoga Pro 2 , but I called them up and it's not released till the end of October which is too late for me.


3) Compromise on chip
I would've thought there would be tons of Ivybridge machines that met my requirements, but I haven't found too many.
Maybe looking at :
Asus S400CA 14-inch Touchscreen VivoBook
Sony Vaio T Series 13 (still only 2xUSB ports)
Dell xps 13 (still only 2xUSB ports), ?Sandybridge only

4) Compromise on chip and touchscreen.
Toshiba Port!g! Z935-ST4N01 - doesn't seem to be available in the UK



None of the searchy engines have "number of USBs" or "weight" as a criterion, so wading through everything is proving a chore. Anyone know of a Core i5 Haswell machine with three USBs under 1.4kg, under £1000? Or suggestions of something that comes close?

DCodd

https://shop.sony.co.uk/shop/ipc/displayLayout/(rdb=0&cScrollCharGroupName=%24BASE_GROUP&layout=27_185_74_75_77_78_79_80_82_91_92_152&cInstId=1&cCharName=C1000000009_P1321&uiarea=9&cCharGroupName=%24BASE_GROUP&carea=%24ROOT&citem=51B15B4F97DD1750E10080002BC29BE2517E63B45A7E3CC0E10080002BC29B74)/.do

If you are prepared to stay on a Ivy Bridge chip, Sony are offering the vaio pro 14" as above with Free upgrade to 256 SSD but only 2 x USB3 8GB RAM and an i5 for less than £900.00 it weighs around or under your 1.4kg range

Personally I think these Ultrabook machines are overpriced but the above seems a reasonable deal for this type of machine.

edit, just seen your concerns re this and the bendy keyboard. Sorry

RobTang

http://www8.hp.com/uk/en/products/laptops/product-detail.html?oid=5379211#!tab=specs ??

only just shy of your weight spec @ 1.5kg.

Otherwise from ivy bridge either the Asus zenbook prime or the hp spectre xt

KingL

thanks for taking a look guys. None of these pass muster and after careful consideration, I've accepted that what I want simply isn't out yet. I'm going to try and stretch the life of my creaky old sammy NC10, then try and buy something on the road in a few months.

btw, the Sony free upgrade on SSDs (128GB->256GB) is on till
the end of this month. It'd give you a i5 Haswell for £980. Shame about the keyboard.

Johnmcl7

If you're looking for a longterm machine that's going to last a good number of years I think you're looking at the wrong machines entirely - in a race to be thin and light, the Ultrabooks have completely compromised serviceability so it's now fairly normal for ram to be soldered in, batteries to be sealed in internally and even the SSD's tend not to be easily accessible. That situation is only generally getting worse at the moment.

John

Anne_Marie_2

At the risk of being shouted at, have you considered a Macbook Air?

I was looking for an ultra portable at the beginning of the year, and found they were far too expensive, so ended up getting a Macbook Air through an Amazon seller, as was cheapest I could find at the time. I love it, and have no regrets whatsoever.