Best 12-13"

T

Tosicc

Limp Gawd
Joined
Feb 19, 2008
Messages
265
About a year ago I created this same thread... And I have still sat idle waiting for the 12"~ market to mature. I cannot wait any longer, my PC is out of commission and my 10" eee has a broken screen. I've been waiting on the aluminum Asus 1218 but it is clear that it is never coming.

My current low budget choice is the ASUS 1215N at $450 and higher end U30JC at $679
 
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What are you going to use this for? Do you want something to act as a primary laptop and can handle some gaming, etc. or just need something with long battery life for travel, or what?
 
I'll tell you what I tell everyone looking for a 12" -- look at a used HP Elitebook or Dell Latitude off corporate lease with 2 years warranty remaining off of Ebay. There are lots, and they can fall within your price range. I would never wish a netbook on anyone.
 
Toshiba Portege R700 and R705 are 13" laptops with a huge amount of features. Supply seems to be drying up with the anticipation of the R740 (only announced in europe?) but it's a nice laptop. My wife has the i5 version of the R700 which is up above $1000, but the i3 versions are under $800. Main drawbacks are the screen is mediocre (but this is a problem for almost all laptops at this price) and some people hate the chiclet keyboard. Otherwise it is a very nice lightweight but powerful laptop.
 
Sony Z13 - starting at near 2000usd.

13.1"

Core i5 or i7
SSD standard
1600x900 res standard
backlit KB standard
DVD drive standard
rather thin (still wedge shape)
rather light (3 lbs)

IMHO, this is the best... with the price tag to correlate.
 
It really depends on your needs as others have pointed out. A little clarity on that would help.

jeremyshaw said:
Sony Z13 - starting at near 2000usd.

13.1"

Core i5 or i7
SSD standard
1600x900 res standard
backlit KB standard
DVD drive standard
rather thin (still wedge shape)
rather light (3 lbs)

IMHO, this is the best... with the price tag to correlate.
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While I agree that the VPC-Z series is the best 13 incher out there, the price (as you mention) is higher that what the OP has alluded to wanting to spending. With that said, keeping a keen eye out at the MS store may score you one for ~$1000 (the Z12 was as low as ~$850 at one point).

I count myself as lucky to have scored a Z12 CTO for $1120 after adding a large capacity battery.
 
I picked up an Asus U36JC about a month ago and have been very happy. The build quality is very good and the battery life is great. It does get a little warm during processor intensive tasks but it's tolerable. Not nearly as hot as my 1st generation Macbook Pro :D
 
silent-circuit said:
I'll tell you what I tell everyone looking for a 12" -- look at a used HP Elitebook or Dell Latitude off corporate lease with 2 years warranty remaining off of Ebay. There are lots, and they can fall within your price range. I would never wish a netbook on anyone.
Click to expand...

I'm having trouble finding these on ebay, would you mind helping me out with an example link or search criteria.
 
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best 12'' for working is lenovo X201. 13'' i would go with sony vaio z if you want a dedicated gpu, else toshiba r705 seems viable Asus U36/U31 seem good if you want a cheaper laptop, accepting lower quality since this are consumer notebooks.
 
Also consider the Acer 3820TG - you can only get the HD5650/HD6550 model from Canada, however :( (acer warranty is all of NA :)).
 
Pylon said:
Well, you can get off lease Latitude D430s with 1.2Ghz Core 2 Duos and a 3 month warranty off Dell Financial Services:
http://www.dfsdirectsales.com/edealinv/servlet/ExecMacro?nurl=control%2FBrowseCatalog.vm&eurl=control%2FBrowseCatalog.vm&rurl=control%2FBrowseCatalog.vm&ctl_nbr=641&path=c641-def-USD-230%23%23-1%23%23-1~~c641-def-USD-43620%23%233%23%23at~~c641-def-USD-43622%23%230%23%232~~nf101||44343330&offset=0&hits=&sortby=&queryType=&query=

Not bad for $240 considering you're getting a real CPU, a full sized keyboard, and magnesium alloy build.
Click to expand...

Good link! That's a solid little machine for a budget minded person. After all most people who want to browse the internet and use Microsoft Office have no need of a "new" laptop to do it.

I had not looked at the Dell Financial Services area before, so now I know what I'm spending part of my lunch hour checking out.

On another note -- does anyone know when we're going to see Thin&Light laptops with the SB i3 option? People who don't need the power of the i5/i7 might want to check those out -- or are they available already and I've just missed it? Might even have decent onboard graphics also, or are they going to continue using Intel HD like last-gen for some of these?
 
I love my HP DM3T and the new one (updated) is nice.

under 1" and $500 is completely doable.
 
the best 12" is x201 tablet with outdoor view.
http://fox-orian.deviantart.com/journal/33371689/

Best screen. IPS crystal at all angles and with 450nits can see perfectly in direct sunlight
Best keyboard bar none. Famous Thinkpad scissor mechanical still used
Best battery life with 8 hrs
Best build quality save $4000 tough-books or XFRs

I do not recommend regular x201 it's screen is bloody awful like looking though a sweater at a real monitor.
 
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Current winner: only thing that bothers me is the lack of USB 3.0 and its a i3 not i5
http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-U31JG-XA...O7QQ/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1298674966&sr=8-3

$700
Intel Core i3-380M Processor 2.53GHz; 4GB of DDR3 1333MHz RAM (2x2GB, 2 slots)
NV 415M 1G DDR3 + Intel GMA HD (Optimus Technology); 320GB SATA Hard Drive (5400 RPM); No optical drive
13.3" HD LED Display; 3 USB 2.0 Ports; 3-in-1 Card Reader (SD/MMC/MS); HDMI and VGA Port; 802.11 b/g/n; Bluetooth 2.0
Windows 7 Home Premium Operating System (64 bit) ;up to 9 hours of battery life
1 Year Standard Warranty and 1 Year Accidental Damage Warranty
 
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11" or 13" mba. I love mine; great screen, awesome build quality, nice keyboard/trackpad and fast ssd.
 
I once had a job where I had to travel for work; ever since then, I pick my laptops like a "corporate" user. I put an emphasis on size, weight, screen viewing angles, and build quality.

Right now I like the Lenovo x201t and the 11" Macbook Air. Lenovo for the screen -- good viewing angles are very important if you are relaxing on a bed or couch, cramped on a plane, or generally sitting in any position other than a desktop. Macbook Air for the size and weight (and somewhat better screen than the average laptop).

But both are running last year's tech. Sandy Bridge is a real step up in a performance and efficiency. IMO unless you absolutely need something today, you should wait a couple months for the new models to come out. I think Macbook Airs are rumored to be updated in June.

I am also curious to see how USB 3.0 vs. Lightpeak / Thunderbolt plays out. But between the two I would go for USB 3 right now because USB 3 flash drives are available, cheap, backward compatible, and significantly faster than USB 2. Thunderbolt has a good chance of going the way of Firewire (awesome for two or three peripherals and ignored by everyone else).
 
Yeah I agree with ^^^
I want to see the new line of Lenovo x201t's, and hope that they have decent graphics (doubtful, I know)

Basically, I'm going to wait for the Vaio Z refresh (if it ever happens t.t) or have to wait until next year for a hopefully refreshed Macbook Pro 15". The Vaio Z is still amazing though..hhhnnnggg that 1080p screen in 13.3" + SB + great graphics + carbon fiber + switchable graphics will be so beast. Too bad they discontinued the current line until (it's postulated) the summer..Sony has no direct competition to the new MBP 13"'s
 
What do you guys need all this performance for? I have an old 2.0 something C2D inside x200t with out door view and never noticed it being slow. Only think I dislike is no HDMI. When I use it as HTPC I have to use monitor and audio out cables. But it's plenty fast for full HD.

I have no interests in gaming or encoding though, I have a desktop for that.
 
Yeah, I saw this shortly after ordering my 3820T. Not a big deal, I set it up today and I am more than pleased with the performance.
 
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