Originally Posted by dgxoxo

We just upgraded to Lenovo X1 Carbons at work. Super light, so amazing. If you need a CD/DVD drive, this is not the device for you. But seriously, so incredibly light.

Originally Posted by pseudoswede

I'm liking this one. I just wish an online retailer would start offering it so I don't have to pay sales tax.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Asus---U...6#tab=overview

Originally Posted by nkedel

I'd recommend, however, not going with that exact spec -- I'm fairly sure that the UX31 (like most other ultrabooks) has the memory soldered onto the motherboard, and as a result, I'd look for a spec with 8gb of memory rather than just 4.

Originally Posted by pseudoswede

4gb of RAM is plenty for me for the purposes I will be using the laptop for (MS Office, web browsing, photo viewing, Connectify hotspot, and movie watching). I basically just want the 1080p 13.3" touchscreen.

Originally Posted by nkedel

Do you have confidence that it will still be enough throughout the lifetime of a new machine? The cost difference is in general pretty small; without the ultrabook tax (from soldered memory), it's negligible, but upgradeable later.

Even with, I'd think $50-$100 is cheap insurance on an already-$1199 machine. YMMV, and it would entail waiting for more SKUs of the Touch hit retailers.

Originally Posted by Boraxo

Excellent point. I've had to upgrade both RAM and hard drive on my Macbook in order to install the latest OS upgrades and to store all my photos & videos. Of course this would not be necessary if you replace your computer every 2-3 years.

Originally Posted by Vulcan

Rather than start a new thread, I'll add my needs here and would like sugestions.
My old small laptop is on it last legs. I need something 12 inches or less for about $1000 or less.
I am thinking something with an i5, as I use it primarily for travel and doing emails and connecting to the office server while on the road. High resolution is improtant to me. I can live with a HD, but an SSD would be nice. I am not interested in an Apple product.
Can someone steer me in the direction I might look?

Originally Posted by nkedel

Not all i5s are created equal -- the low clocked ultrabook ones (i5-3xxxUM) are perfectly fine for general use, while the regular full power ones (i5-3xxxM) are really fast (essentially no different from the dual-core i7s, which I don't see the value in.) For what you've said, either should be fine.

Depending on your battery life needs, even the (non-ultrabook - ending M not UM) i3s may be acceptable; I'd steer clear of the ultrabook i3s (ending UM), which without turbo are on the margins of "too slow" even for more general use.

The line in total bulk between a 12.5" business subnotebook and a 13.0" or 13.3" ultrabook is likely to favor the ultrabook. The latter will generally come with an SSD as well. There are also 11.6" ultrabooks (and a few remaining netbooks, best avoided.)

Thanks for the suggestions. The UA

All of them tend to come with the low resolution 1366x768 screens which are now typical, although exceptions are getting more common, especially if you can stretch your budget a little.

Three very compact 13" models I'm familiar with, and which you might stretch your size for:
* Asus UX31A Zenbook Prime (1920x1080, around $1100 on Newegg; I have not used it, but there is a UX31E otherwise similar but with a 1600x900 screen.)
* Sony Vaio Z series (1920x1080 -- going out of production, and around $2000, but sweet)
* Lenovo Ideapad Yoga 13" (1600x900, around $1000)

Not higher resolution, but two very solid 12.5" business subnotebooks:
* Lenovo Thinkpad X230 (the X230i, with an i3, is quite a bargain at around $800; add in your own SSD. Fully configured with an i5, may be out of your budget.)
* Dell Latitude E6230 (around $600-$700 refurbished with an i5 via outlet.dell.com; somewhat over $1000 configured otherwise)
...and a 12.5" business ultrabook:
* Lenovo Thinkpad Twist (aka Thinkpad Edge S230u) -- 12.5" ultrabook, $900-$1100 depending on configuration (avoid the i3-based ones)

There are a bunch of over-$1000, 11.6" ultrabooks with full-HD screens although I have no familiarity with any of them.

Originally Posted by Vulcan

The UX31A looks good.
Thanks for the suggestions!
Ed

Originally Posted by ajs123

As I am getting older and travel more and more, I have come to appreciate lightness. I used to travel with a Toshiba laptop and an iPad. Now I travel with a MacBook air and an iPad Mini. The difference is amazing!