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This isn't a recommendation, as I am not a customer, but System76 offers a "Lemur Ultrathin" model: http://www.system76.com/product_info.php?cPath=28&produc... Here's a review: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1610568
The Asus lowkey links, the Samsung 9 series (you can get this at Costco), the Sony Vaio Z series and the small end Lenovo ThinkPad's (which some friends have told me are a bit too small cause of the higher res screen).
When I looked the Samsung 9 had some serious touch-pad sensitivity issues. The Sony Vaio Z series is packed and quite expensive if you really load it out.
I would point out that the scrolling/zooming/multi-touch experience in Windows 7 on these other devices is no where near as fluid as the MBA; I don't know how important that is to you, but once I realized how herky-jerky it was going to be that was a turn off for me and how I was using my laptop.
Also the hardware loadout in the MBA compared to some of these other devices actually ends up making the MBA really competitively priced, especially when you add the SSD to the likes of the Sony Vaio Z which got quite expensive.
As always it depends what you want to do with the laptop (gaming? programming? web?) but just know that if OS X/Win isn't an issue the hardware on all these high end ultra lights is within the same ballpark and not night/day different.
In my experience the Macbook Air is the best bang for your buck in terms of weight, battery life and speed. The Samsung Series 9 is really the only one that comes close in those 3 areas, and it's more expensive. Full disclosure: I own the new i5 13" MBA and think it's the best purchase I've made in a long time.
I am planning to purchase the same MBA that you have. Would you say it's good enough for someone who wants to do Django, python dev, Photoshop, Illustrator and some basic video editing?
(I have the same i5 13", it's been great)
The model is a bit older now but the specs are good and you can probably find them quite cheap now. There is also a second gen version (3830 i think is model?) that has most of the same specs except second gen i5, usb 3 & i think nvidia instead of ati video.
No. The other macbooks are too big, and all other notebooks are too windowsey.
Samsung QX411 actually looks a lot like the macbook air. It costs around 800$ with i5 and 6gb of RAM. Its very light for a 14' laptop and battery is pretty good too. I own one and just love it, at first I installed Ubuntu but video and clickpad drivers didnt map well.. then found out I could just run Ubuntu inside VirtualBox with seamless performance .
No. The other macbooks are too big, and all other notebooks are too windowsey.
Too windowsey? What does that even mean? Does it mean you don't actually have to choose between working AHCI and working sleep in Windows?
Sometimes second place isn't good enough.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I have a Vaio Z, and the only thing that doesn't work smoothly is dynamic GPU switching. This is not a problem specific to the Vaio, it is simply not supported by Xorg (yet?). All other important hardware is Intel so driver support is excellent. The only thing not to like about this machine is the price.
I haven't tried Linux on any Sony devices yet, how is the driver support? I tend to buy Lenovo only since I'm always confident that full driver and wireless support will be there always. The Vaio Z is very enticing, but with similar offerings from Lenovo like the X220, I'm tending towards the familiar.
The machine can be configured with fingerprint reader, 3G modem, and maybe something else. I don't have any of the extras so I don't know the level of support for these.
When I got it last year, there were a few minor issues with suspend, but these have since been fixed.