Portability is becoming as important as price and performance when it comes to laptops. Mark Prigg tests some lightweight models.
Every year, laptops seem to get thinner, faster and lighter, and the past 12 months has been no exception. What was once available only on a desktop computer is now on a machine slim and light enough to take everywhere.
Laptop design has also moved on to incorporate a raft of exotic materials, and the specifications for some of the machines here seem at first glance to be taken from a Formula One car, with carbon fibre, aluminium casing milled to near perfection and toughened glass all crucial parts of some of the latest designs.
Crucially, in the ultraportable sector of the market, the latest processors, particularly from Intel, also have far lower power requirements. This means battery life is better than ever – the latest size-zero machines can finally do a full day’s work away from a power socket.
As always, high-end users wanting to do video- and audio-processing may be better off opting for a larger model. But for most of us, the ultraportable computer has finally come of age, and is a viable alternative to a laptop or desktop for everyday performance.
In fact, its biggest competition now is from the tablet market, with the thinner and faster iPad 2, in particular, quickly closing in on ultraportables for many day-to-day tasks.
Lenovo Thinkpad Edge 13-inch
£486, shop.lenovo.com
The Thinkpad range has had a bit of an edge since Lenovo bought it from IBM. The redesign of its ultraportable Edge is stunning, and very different from the “me too” looks of Apple’s other competitors, with its glossy lid.
Weighing 1.7kg, it’s mid-range for an ultraportable, and a little chunky looking when compared with the Vaio and the Macbook Air (see facing page). However, it does cram in a lot of machinery and is significantly cheaper, especially if bought online. Along with most Thinkpads, there is both a traditional trackpad and a pointer in the middle of the keyboard. The keyboard itself is average, and while fine for most emails and other tasks, touch-typists may find it a little tough to cope with. There’s also a 3G modem built in so you won’t need to worry about dongles if you don’t have wifi.
Battery life is about 6.5 hours, helped by the fact there is no DVD drive. The 13.3-inch screen is sharp and bright, and while the performance is pretty average, it’s more than enough for most everyday tasks, making this a great budget ultraportable that’s amazingly well built.
Pros Great design
Cons Poor keyboard
ViewSonic ViewBook 130
£550, viewsoniceurope.com
Unashamedly taking its design cues from the Macbook Air, the Viewsonic Viewbook 130 is a great-looking little machine with a 13-inch screen and an Intel processor (although other options are available).
It’s well built, and the keyboard in particular stands out, being tactile and great to type on. It has an Apple-like aluminium finish, though it feels slightly cheap and plasticky. But this is a machine let down by sluggish performance – it continually feels a bit slow, particularly on graphics-intensive games. Battery life is disappointing, at 3.45 hours.
It’s a decent attempt at a cheaper Macbook Air lookalike, and is really only let down by a slow processor and graphics capabilities. For web browsing and word processing, it’s fine, but for anything else, you may be better off looking elsewhere.
Pros Cheap
Cons Performance lacking, poor battery life
Sony VAIO Z series
From £2,199, sonystyle.com
Sony has really made a name for itself in the laptop market and the Z series has made a huge impact at the high end, with its amazingly quick processor something you would expect to find in a much larger machine.
Built using a mixture of hybrid carbon fibre and milled aluminium, the latest version is fantastically good looking. Build quality is outstanding, although the screen can feel a little weak, almost as if you could bend it out of shape. However, invest in a decent case and it shouldn’t be a problem. There’s also an in-built high-speed cellular modem so you can put a 3G SIM in to get online anywhere.
Despite its fragility, the 13.1-inch matte screen is stunning – high-definition video is astonishing, with colours bright and vibrant. The keyboard is excellent and, unlike the Macbook Air, has a backlight. Battery life is pretty good, at 4.75 hours.
Overall, the Vaio is a brilliant machine. If money is no object then it can do everything a “normal” laptop can, in a package weighing only 1.4kg. It’s a triumph of engineering, and one of the most impressive ultraportables you’ll find.
Pros Great design and performance
Cons Expensive
Acer Aspire Timeline X
From £499, acer.co.uk
Acer’s latest attempt at the ultraportable market is an interesting one, bringing a sub-£500 machine to the market (although there are bigger, faster and more expensive options in the range).
The base model is a little underwhelming. A fairly generic design is used, and while it is reasonably svelte, at 4.78cm and 1.9kg, it’s not the lightest here. There’s a 13.3-inch screen, and a decent enough keyboard. However, it is let down by poor build quality, giving the whole machine a slight feeling of “getting what you pay for”. Still, battery life is good, at about eight hours.
Overall, the Aspire’s performance is a little disappointing and,
while reasonable for basic tasks, is probably more of a budget laptop than a true ultraportable, despite its pretensions to be the latter.
Pros Great price
Cons Performance a little sluggish, poor build quality
Apple MacBook Air
From £867, apple.com/uk
Unsurprisingly, in a category where looks are almost more important than raw performance, Apple has dominated with the Macbook Air. However, it has always suffered from being a little on the slow side – until the latest version. Thanks to a new chip, it’s now blazingly fast, capable of crunching through video and games. Admittedly, it’s still no rival for serious video-editing machines, but it’s a passable alternative.
For most of us, the Air is more than fast enough for everyday tasks. I tried out the 11-inch screen version, which at first seemed far too small and lightweight for a serious machine. However, the resolution means you’re actually getting a great display capable of showing all but the biggest spreadsheets. It’s a great travelling companion, and as it weighs only 1.06kg, you can take it anywhere.
The keyboard, often a problem with smaller machines, is superb – one of the best of any size laptop. You also get about five hours of battery life.
There are some niggles – the backlit keyboard has disappeared in the latest version, and you’ll need an adaptor to plug it into a larger monitor. But, overall, the Macbook Air is probably the nearest thing to a perfect ultraportable you’ll get – small enough to carry around yet durable and powerful enough to take on pretty much any task.
Pros Highly portable, superb design
Cons Lacks a backlit keyboard
Samsung Q430
£699, samsung.com/uk
With a 14-inch screen and weighing 2.09kg, the Samsung Q430 is superb value. It’s not the thinnest, at 2.64cm, and it is a little heavy compared with its rivals, but bear in mind that unlike many of the other machines here, it has a DVD drive.
The Samsung also boasts a rather good screen, with clear, vibrant colours and a display that won’t leave you squinting after a full day’s work – although it is a little too glossy at times, with reflections a bit distracting.The keyboard is also excellent, with chunky full-size keys, and battery life is good, at about six hours on a full charge. It also has a neat sleep-and-charge feature that lets you power up other gadgets via a USB port while the laptop is asleep.
This is a great all-round machine for those on a tight budget looking for something that, in reality, is a light notebook rather than a true ultraportable, yet still offers a relatively thin and lightweight frame. It doesn’t have the svelte looks or carbon fibre of the competition, but it does give you a DVD drive and a big screen for a decent price.
Pros Great value for money
Cons Small trackpad, uninspiring design
Dell Vostro V130
From £399, dell.co.uk
Dell’s Vostro is a great attempt at a thin (1.97cm), light (1.6kg) laptop, but without moving away from the company’s reputation for decent all-round performance at a budget price. The Vostro looks fantastic, and the boxy design works well, with the option of red or silver cases. It is, however, a little more corporate looking than the other exotic machines here.
There’s no optical drive, but that’s the same for many of the thinner machines here – and a USB stick will usually do the job just as well. It’s incredibly well built, and even on the 13.3-inch screen there’s none of the flex that is apparent in other ultraportables. The screen is great, and the matte coating makes it easier to see, reducing reflections.
It’s also pretty fast (and there are quicker versions if you’re willing to pay more), and copes with HD video without any problems, although gaming is still an issue.
However, the big flaw in the Vostro is the battery – it’s awful. With average use, you’ll get just over two hours from it, and slightly more if you’re careful. This lets down an otherwise decent laptop. If you’re always near a power point, it’s worth a look, but don’t expect to get a full morning’s work out of it otherwise.
Pros Great design and value
Cons Poor battery life
Toshiba Portege R700
From £575, toshiba.co.uk
Toshiba’s Portégé range has long been a force to be reckoned with, and this new version – the seventh – is no exception. Weighing less than 1.4kg and boasting a battery life of about 6.5 hours, it’s a real all-day option for business users. The 13.3-inch screen is excellent although, like the Vaio, seems a little flimsy. Toshiba says this is actually part of the design, allowing the screen to flex rather than break, but, regardless, it makes the Portégé feel slightly fragile. There’s a DVD reader crammed in, along with a fingerprint sensor under the trackpad for added security.
Performance is superb, and it uses the same processor as the Vaio Z series. One downside is that the edges of the machine can get a little warm, although not uncomfortably so. Also, the keyboard, while a decent size, feels spongy and unresponsive, making touch typing difficult. It has a full complement of ports, including an HDMI one for plugging into a big-screen TV.
Overall, Toshiba has really raised its game with this Portégé. Previous models were good, but this is a truly excellent ultraportable offering great value for money.
Pros Light and stylish
Cons Terrible keyboard
Get connected
Once seen hanging off the end of every laptop, the humble dongle is now on its last legs thanks to the huge rise in people using smartphones. This has led to the explosion in popularity of the portable hotspot, a credit card-sized gadget that uses a 3G SIM card to provide a small, personal wifi hotspot.
The best example is Three’s Mifi, available from £72 on pay-as-you-go or £16 per month with a contract from three.co.uk.
If you only use a laptop, a dongle is still a great idea, and Vodafone has some deals for its USB modem at vodafone.co.uk, from £3 per month for a pay-as-you-go service.
Another option for smartphone owners is to use your phone as a personal wifi hotspot, creating your own small password-protected wifi zone around you so everything from your laptop (and those of your colleagues) to your iPhone can get online. The latest version of both Google’s Android software and Apple’s iPhone have this capability built in, and give you the advantage of not having to take out another contract.
