Price: $1,225
Verdict: Tiny it may be, but the stunning
MacBook Air, running the best OS out there, won't shirk big jobs
Ratings: 5/5
Apple
MacBook Air 13in
If you're an Apple fan deciding which
MacBook to buy just got a lot harder. The 2011 Air has long been our No.1, and
the 2012 models now have new Intel Core i5 or i7 Ivy Bridge processors,
improved Intel HD 4000 graphics and two USB3.0 ports. So the best just got
better simple. Except it's not that simple, because the new MacBook Pro with
Retina Display (below) is now more portable and more powerful than any previous
Pro. It's also loads more expensive, though, and while our hearts might say
‘Pro', our minds (and bank managers) are saying ‘Air'. That's why it keeps the
coveted top spot. Just.
Apple MacBook Pro with Retina Display
Price: From $2,450
Ratings: 5/5
It's the most powerful MacBook ever, the
most portable MacBook Pro ever, and it's got the best screen of any laptop ever.
Simply put, this is the best laptop (ever). So why not the top spot? because
it's also rather pricey and in real life we'd have to go for the Air.
Asus Zenbook UX31
Price: $1,300
Ratings: 5/5
All metal design, a hi-res 13.3in screen
and dual-core Core i7 innards: Asus' Ultrabook has brains and beauty; enough of
both, in fact, to make it the most covetable Windows laptop in the world. The
Ivy Bridge-powered UX31A, launching soon, may be better still.
Lenovo IdeaPad U300s
Price: $850
Ratings: 5/5
At just 15mm, this 1.6GHz Core i5 aluminium
beauty is right there among the very thinnest ultrabooks. A perfect compromise
between power and size gives a clear 1366x768 display, 4GB memory and 128GB SSD
and it's still falling in price. Bargain.
Dell XPS13
Price: $2,000
Ratings: 4/5
The XPS 13 forges its own path through the
Air-aping Ultrabook masses, with a metal carbon-fibre base and rubberised
backlit keyboard. Just as importantly, it’s kitted out with a 256GB SSD, 1.7GHz
Core i7 processor, 8hr battery life and excellent keyboard.
HP Envy 14 Spectre
Price: From $1,870
Ratings: 4/5
The Spectre stands out from the
aluminium-clad Ultrabook crowd with a glass back, trackpad and wrist rest. Yes,
that adds a few grams to its frame, but it’s a price worth paying. Also wins
points for its stunning 1600x900, 14in screen. Can we call it a glass act?
Toshiba Z930-10X
Price: $1,200
Ratings: 5/5
At just 16mm, this 1.12kg, Ivy Bridge Core
i5 Ultrabook is so thin you'll have to watch you don't cut yourself. A 128GB
SSD (admittedly stuffed full of bloatware) and a glare-free matte screen are
handy, while 6GB of RAM and a 6-hour-ish battery tickle us too.
Samsung 900X4C
Price: From $2,055
Ratings: 4/5
Cramming a 15in screen into a 14.9mm slim
body is impressive, the quality of said screen slightly less so. But with a 7hr
battery, 8GB RAM, a 1.9GHz Intel Core i7 Ivy Bridge processor and 256GB SSD,
it's still an impressive, if pricey, Air alternative.
Acer Aspire S3
Price: From $980
Ratings: 4/5
There's no denying that Acer's first
Ultrabook, the 13.3in Aspire S3, is invading the MacBook Air's territory: it
comes with an Intel Core i5,4GB RAM, 320GB HDD/SSD hybrid drive and HDMI. The
Air is pricier, but has a sharper screen and better build.
Alienware M17x
Price: From $2,450
Ratings: 4/5
At 4.26kg the M17x is only really portable
in theory, but it's carrying the good kind of weight - the kind that includes
Radeon HD7970M graphics, an Intel Core i7 Ivy Bridge chip, and a precise 17in
1080p screen. The kind of weight that crushes modern games.
Instant expert
If everything in our Top 10 has you raving
at the skies crying, “I need more power!”, then we have the answer. Eurocom has
you covered, with what it claims is the world's most powerful Ivy Bridge
Notebook the P370EM Scorpius (from US$2,200, eurocom.com). At top spec this
17.3in beast has a quad-core Intel i7 3920XM Extreme Edition chip and a blistering
32GB of DDR3 RAM not to mention three 1TB hard drives (and an SSD, if you feel
like it). And if that didn't impress your brain the graphics will, thanks to
two eye-meltingly good 4GB GeForce GTX 680M graphics cards. The only downside
is lugging all 3.5kg of it around. Oh, and the price: fully specced-up you're
be looking at the best part of US$6,350. Gulp.
What to look for
Connections
You can't have too many USB ports, and
ideally at least one of them should be USB3.0. Insist on HDMI, and view VGA as
a useful back-up. FireWire, Thunderbolt (Intel's 10Gbps superfast I/O) and
eSATA will expand your poweruser options.
Interface
Keyboards and trackpads are often taken for
granted, but their quality and design really matter. Some keyboards play rotten
tricks by swapping critical keys around, or omitting others altogether. If it's
possible, get hands-on with the device before buying.
Operating system
If you're already on board with Mac OS X
it's unlikely you'll entertain the idea of switching to the more complex (but
more customisable) Windows 7. However, Apple doesn't do cheap laptops, so if
your budget is tight it'll be Windows for you. Google's browser-based Chrome OS
is another option.
