It's not obvious from your question which aspects of the MBA are unsatisfactory, and which ones you would like the alternative to have. Can you say more about your needs?
Ask HN: Any good Macbook Air alternatives?
61–70 of 140 posts
Re: Ask HN: Any good Macbook Air alternatives?
#62I actually switched from 2010 Air to X220 after the 2011 Airs came out. Needed a Windows machine and did not like where Lion was going - with 2011 MBA I would have no choice but to run Lion and Windows with half baked support (AHCI, other minor annoyances) The X220 fits the bill - 1) Display is good - it's IPS panel with good viewing angles and great brightness (Make sure you opt for Premium HD display) 2) Battery li…
What do you think about the low resolution of the screen? for that reason alone i am considering the vaio z instead.
Re: Ask HN: Any good Macbook Air alternatives?
#63I actually switched from 2010 Air to X220 after the 2011 Airs came out. Needed a Windows machine and did not like where Lion was going - with 2011 MBA I would have no choice but to run Lion and Windows with half baked support (AHCI, other minor annoyances) The X220 fits the bill - 1) Display is good - it's IPS panel with good viewing angles and great brightness (Make sure you opt for Premium HD display) 2) Battery li…
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Re: Ask HN: Any good Macbook Air alternatives?
#64I believe Intel is coming out with a new motherboard spec soon (or already did?) to build Windows computers that basically imitate the Air. So wait 6 months and you should have some good choices. Couldn't find link, sorry.
Here is a link that has some information on the Ultrabook:
Re: Ask HN: Any good Macbook Air alternatives?
#65Or the Samsung 9 series -> http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Samsung-900X3A-Subnotebo...
I have been using a Series 9 since the week it was released. It is an awesome computer. I run Windows 7 on it and use Ubuntu in VirtualBox for *nix development work. My only reservation is the SSD is only 128GB, but there's apparently a newer iteration that has 256GB: http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-NP900X3A-B02-13-3-Inch-Noteboo...
That said, I find the OP a bit unclear. If you need a computer that runs Mac OSX, your choices are clear, though fairly limited. The discussion in that case is about what form-factor you prefer (ultra-mobile, portable, desktop).
If you don't care about operating system, but are looking for a computer with a similar design aesthetic and form factor, there are several choices. The Samsung Series 9 is the closest match, in my opinion, for being metal, thin, light, and lacking a optical drive. With an optical drive, I would suggest the Toshiba Portege (R835) or so, which runs Ubuntu well.
Re: Ask HN: Any good Macbook Air alternatives?
#66I actually switched from 2010 Air to X220 after the 2011 Airs came out. Needed a Windows machine and did not like where Lion was going - with 2011 MBA I would have no choice but to run Lion and Windows with half baked support (AHCI, other minor annoyances) The X220 fits the bill - 1) Display is good - it's IPS panel with good viewing angles and great brightness (Make sure you opt for Premium HD display) 2) Battery li…
I did a search for X220 and found this: http://www.laptopmag.com/review/laptops/lenovo-thinkpad-x220... Are you serious? This doesn't look like anything that may compete with Macbook Air in my book. Not to seem too negative, but the overall design is reminiscent of old laptops from the year 2001. (Typical for PC laptop designers).
I actually prefer the Thinkpad design.
Re: Ask HN: Any good Macbook Air alternatives?
#67I actually switched from 2010 Air to X220 after the 2011 Airs came out. Needed a Windows machine and did not like where Lion was going - with 2011 MBA I would have no choice but to run Lion and Windows with half baked support (AHCI, other minor annoyances) The X220 fits the bill - 1) Display is good - it's IPS panel with good viewing angles and great brightness (Make sure you opt for Premium HD display) 2) Battery li…
What do you think about the low resolution of the screen? for that reason alone i am considering the vaio z instead.
For my eyesight I find 1366x768 more comfortable for a 12.5" screen. But otherwise 1440x900 or above would be better for screen real estate.
Re: Ask HN: Any good Macbook Air alternatives?
#68I actually switched from 2010 Air to X220 after the 2011 Airs came out. Needed a Windows machine and did not like where Lion was going - with 2011 MBA I would have no choice but to run Lion and Windows with half baked support (AHCI, other minor annoyances) The X220 fits the bill - 1) Display is good - it's IPS panel with good viewing angles and great brightness (Make sure you opt for Premium HD display) 2) Battery li…
I did a search for X220 and found this: http://www.laptopmag.com/review/laptops/lenovo-thinkpad-x220... Are you serious? This doesn't look like anything that may compete with Macbook Air in my book. Not to seem too negative, but the overall design is reminiscent of old laptops from the year 2001. (Typical for PC laptop designers).
I'm responding here, because all the responses to this so far qualify and I don't want to single one out. I'd like to address them all.
I'd like to point out that chunky and heavy v. thin and light is not all about looking cool. A better comparison would be Thinkpad v. MBP. But since this is about alternatives to the Air, let's assume that thin & light are worth giving up some raw horsepower and perhaps some functionality.
If the form factor of the old Kaypro / Compaq luggables were around today you could pack a desktop machine's worth of power into it. If someone looking for a notebook computer was pointed toward one of those and remarked something like the above, I think we'd all agree with them.
Re: Ask HN: Any good Macbook Air alternatives?
#69Earlier quoted context omitted.
I did a search for X220 and found this: http://www.laptopmag.com/review/laptops/lenovo-thinkpad-x220... Are you serious? This doesn't look like anything that may compete with Macbook Air in my book. Not to seem too negative, but the overall design is reminiscent of old laptops from the year 2001. (Typical for PC laptop designers).
Do you buy your laptops primarily to look at them, or to use them?
False dichotomy.
Re: Ask HN: Any good Macbook Air alternatives?
#70I actually switched from 2010 Air to X220 after the 2011 Airs came out. Needed a Windows machine and did not like where Lion was going - with 2011 MBA I would have no choice but to run Lion and Windows with half baked support (AHCI, other minor annoyances) The X220 fits the bill - 1) Display is good - it's IPS panel with good viewing angles and great brightness (Make sure you opt for Premium HD display) 2) Battery li…
I did a search for X220 and found this: http://www.laptopmag.com/review/laptops/lenovo-thinkpad-x220... Are you serious? This doesn't look like anything that may compete with Macbook Air in my book. Not to seem too negative, but the overall design is reminiscent of old laptops from the year 2001. (Typical for PC laptop designers).
> but the overall design is reminiscent of old laptops from the year 2001
The chunky black plastic is just as much a part of the Thinkpad brand as the unibody is for the Macbooks.