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Dell launches Ultrabook for $999

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Re: Dell launches Ultrabook for $999

#51

Post by martingordon »

eropple wrote: post #37
martingordon wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seems like putting in a crappy display is what allowed them to hit the $999 price point. Screen aside, it is reasonably close to the MacBook Air (real world keyboard/trackpad usability and battery life notwithstanding) that it could get some people to get one over the MBA, except that Dell completely blows it with their presentation. The site is completely Flash and tries to do one of those fancy scrolling sites, exc…

720p means 1280x720, 1080p means 1920x1080. edit: apparently not, see sibling comment

Exactly my point :)

Re: Dell launches Ultrabook for $999

#52

Post by SkyMarshal »

JoshTriplett wrote: post #25
eropple wrote: post #8

So I clicked through this article, expecting something that totally misses the point (like their Adamo a few years ago). It doesn't match my immediate expectations. Which is good! The machine looks solid. I don't know if I like it more than my Air, but it looks promising. I keep clicking through. In a machine like this, two things really matter: keyboard and display. As allwein says in another comment thread, they do…

Most manufacturers seem to do that these days, hiding display resolution somewhere obscure, while it represents one of the most important details that I need to know. Personally, I'd like an Ultrabook with the 13" 1080p screen from the Sony Z series. (But not made by Sony, since I need something with decent quality, a decent warranty, and a decent company.)

Or how about the Asus Zenbooks? 13" 1600x900, 11" 1366x768. Played with one briefly in Staples a few weeks ago, but not enough to get a good feel for it.

Holding off till Linux runs better on them and there are some Ivy Bridge models, but they're definitely on my short list.

Re: Dell launches Ultrabook for $999

#53

Post by [deleted] »

JoshTriplett wrote: post #25
eropple wrote: post #8

So I clicked through this article, expecting something that totally misses the point (like their Adamo a few years ago). It doesn't match my immediate expectations. Which is good! The machine looks solid. I don't know if I like it more than my Air, but it looks promising. I keep clicking through. In a machine like this, two things really matter: keyboard and display. As allwein says in another comment thread, they do…

Most manufacturers seem to do that these days, hiding display resolution somewhere obscure, while it represents one of the most important details that I need to know. Personally, I'd like an Ultrabook with the 13" 1080p screen from the Sony Z series. (But not made by Sony, since I need something with decent quality, a decent warranty, and a decent company.)

[deleted]

Re: Dell launches Ultrabook for $999

#55

Post by commandar »

eropple wrote: post #8

So I clicked through this article, expecting something that totally misses the point (like their Adamo a few years ago). It doesn't match my immediate expectations. Which is good! The machine looks solid. I don't know if I like it more than my Air, but it looks promising. I keep clicking through. In a machine like this, two things really matter: keyboard and display. As allwein says in another comment thread, they do…

Keep an eye on Vizio.

The thin and lights they announced at CES are going to pack 1600x900 screens in the 14" model, and full 1080p screens in the 15.6" model.

Gorgeous industrial design, great screens, they're working with Microsoft to ship Windows 7 bloatware-free, and Vizio has a reputation for being absolutely ruthless in cutting prices while maintaining quality. They're supposed to hit market in June, and I'm holding off on buying a new notebook until then.

The Verge had a great interview with their CTO:

http://www.theverge.com/2012/1/13/2705064/vizio-cto-matt-mcr...

They seem to get it. If they mean half of what McRae says in that interview, Vizio stands to really turn the commodity PC market on its head. Given that we keep seeing the same mistakes made by the likes of Dell, HP, et al, I think it may just take an outsider like them to shake up the industry.

Re: Dell launches Ultrabook for $999

#56

Post by MatthewPhillips »

SkyMarshal wrote: post #52
JoshTriplett wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most manufacturers seem to do that these days, hiding display resolution somewhere obscure, while it represents one of the most important details that I need to know. Personally, I'd like an Ultrabook with the 13" 1080p screen from the Sony Z series. (But not made by Sony, since I need something with decent quality, a decent warranty, and a decent company.)

Or how about the Asus Zenbooks? 13" 1600x900, 11" 1366x768. Played with one briefly in Staples a few weeks ago, but not enough to get a good feel for it. Holding off till Linux runs better on them and there are some Ivy Bridge models, but they're definitely on my short list.

I want an ultrabook to throw Arch on. I'm real close to buying the Lenovo U300s, but I'm not a hardware geek, does it look reasonable to anyone in the know?

Re: Dell launches Ultrabook for $999

#57

Post by shinratdr »

jimrhoskins wrote: post #10
herge wrote: post #3

Why make it out of aluminium? Does it have better heat properties or lighter weight than say some high quality plastics or steel, or any other metal?

Because at first glance it will pass for a macbook air. I don't say that with any bitterness. I have and love my air, but as I find myself using less and less of OS X, and really just living in iTerm and my browser, the real appeal of the Air to me now is the hardware. If the Ultrabook stands up to the Air in quality, I'm seriously considering the Ultrabook + Ubuntu (double-u?) for my next notebook. Also assuming Ubu…

Why would you do that instead of just putting Ubuntu on the Air?

Re: Dell launches Ultrabook for $999

#58

Post by shinratdr »

macmac wrote: post #20
wasd wrote: post #6

All I want for Christmas is for a Linux optimized Ultra Book.

Yes, why does no manufacturer see that they could get a bunch of developers onboard by creating such a product? Is the developer segment really that uninteresting?

> Is the developer segment really that uninteresting?

Yes. It's also much, much more fragmented than you make it out to be. It's not like all developers are waiting with bated breath for the perfect Linux laptop. Many are perfectly happy with what they currently use.

A machine targeted towards developers wouldn't even appeal to the majority of developers, which is already a niche market to begin with. It's quite obvious why nobody does this.

Re: Dell launches Ultrabook for $999

#60

Post by eropple »

commandar wrote: post #55
eropple wrote: post #8

So I clicked through this article, expecting something that totally misses the point (like their Adamo a few years ago). It doesn't match my immediate expectations. Which is good! The machine looks solid. I don't know if I like it more than my Air, but it looks promising. I keep clicking through. In a machine like this, two things really matter: keyboard and display. As allwein says in another comment thread, they do…

Keep an eye on Vizio. The thin and lights they announced at CES are going to pack 1600x900 screens in the 14" model, and full 1080p screens in the 15.6" model. Gorgeous industrial design, great screens, they're working with Microsoft to ship Windows 7 bloatware-free, and Vizio has a reputation for being absolutely ruthless in cutting prices while maintaining quality. They're supposed to hit market in June, and I'm ho…

This is interesting. I hadn't realized they were getting into PCs (my only knowledge of Vizio is "shitty Walmart TVs") and they're at least saying all the right things.

Admittedly, at this point it'll take a lot to get me to come back from Apple, but that is definitely a start.

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