News - QOTW: netbook, notebook, ultrabook or tablet?

[HEXUS]

Which portable form factor will you be eyeing up in 2012?

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[Steve]

I was given a netbook. The keyboard was too small. I have a 13" notebook. It's brilliant. If it had been sold today it'd probably get away with being called an ultrabook, but it's just over a year old, so I guess it isn't.

It's comparable to a 13" macbook, but half the weight.

[Hicks12]

love my 14" dell latitude e6400, however i really do like the look of that asus ultrabook . If i had a solid job while in uni i probably would buy one as its faster than my dell!

Do like the idea of the netbooks however i think 13" is the minimum to have a decent keyboard and a decent enough spec. Id like to see a notebook / laptop come out with a mechanical keyboard though as i have started to dislike laptop keys alot since buying my filco keyboard .

[cheesemp]

Still think the value is in the standard laptops. Not cool but so much more capable. The problem with a tablet is its all right in the front room while watching TV when you want a bit of facebook or the like but you still can't beat a keyboard for anything serious so you end up with both anyway. I think the Asus Transformer prime with sliding keyboard might fill the gap in the future though...

[Noxvayl]

If anything I'll be getting a smartphone in 2012. No way a laptop could replace my desktop and I really don't need netbook/ultrabook/laptop functionality when I'm not at home. I don't spend enough time travelling to warrant a laptop.

[Hicks12]

im hoping one day my idea becomes a reality, laptop with 3 screens able to be folded out (like a multiscreen desktop setup) i find im always wanting just the extra bit of room on my laptop... my desktop only has one monitor but its fine to have 2 pieces of work on either side and would be great on a laptop.

However until you get like OLED being the norm i doubt this will happen as its too bulky (we all seem to be forcing the small is best but for smartphones larger is better... would never have a tablet as it makes me cringe thinking about typing on that pile of crap for a report or something!)

[kingpotnoodle]

Well my ultraportable/laptop/netbook/whatever (Dell Inspiron M11z) is due an upgrade, I've had it well over a year lol

My dream machine is 11-12", as close to ~1Kg as possible, not made out of kitchen appliance styled silver aluminium but a tasteful matte black plastic/alloy, allows me to fit my own SSD, contains 4GB of DDR3, an ULV CPU, maybe Optimus enabled graphics and a decent battery good for 6-8hrs of web surfing or watching films, USB3 and gigabit wired. What I'd like to have without me modifying it is 5GHz 2x2 or better Wi-Fi, but at least Wi-Fi cards can be swapped out, warranty be damned.

Don't give a monkey's what it's marketed as, they can call it the spankbook for all I care.

[CampGareth]

im hoping one day my idea becomes a reality, laptop with 3 screens able to be folded out (like a multiscreen desktop setup) i find im always wanting just the extra bit of room on my laptop...

Might want to search for the 'Thinkpad W700ds' or maybe the W701ds, ds standing for dual screen. Admittedly they were only designed for people who needed a portable desktop but they did have a main 17" at 1920x1200 (so, fine for most normal uses) and a slide out 10" secondary display at 1280x720 iirc. It seems to me that whenever someone says 'wouldn't that be cool' IBM have been there already, ultra-high res monitors particularly (their 2001 T220 is only now being beaten by cinemas )

What I want to see though is a return to smartbooks which were ARM powered netbooks, battery life like a tablet but they also had a keyboard and sold for less than netbooks, the current equivalent would be the Asus Transformer but £400 is twice what a smartbook should cost. Might as well get a netbook and £150 worth of batteries

[Funkstar]

I want something relatively thin and light to replace my Lenovo S10e. Might not be a full Ultrabook, but as long as it has 720p or greater screen and is fairly thin and a reasonable price, then that will do me.

[Hicks12]

Might want to search for the 'Thinkpad W700ds' or maybe the W701ds, ds standing for dual screen. Admittedly they were only designed for people who needed a portable desktop but they did have a main 17" at 1920x1200 (so, fine for most normal uses) and a slide out 10" secondary display at 1280x720 iirc. It seems to me that whenever someone says 'wouldn't that be cool' IBM have been there already, ultra-high res monitors particularly (their 2001 T220 is only now being beaten by cinemas )

What I want to see though is a return to smartbooks which were ARM powered netbooks, battery life like a tablet but they also had a keyboard and sold for less than netbooks, the current equivalent would be the Asus Transformer but £400 is twice what a smartbook should cost. Might as well get a netbook and £150 worth of batteries

Wow, think pad looks like a solid idea and omg i cant stop looking at that t220 its epic! I wonder who will bring this down to consumer level, currently on amazon for $1000 lol!.

[miniyazz]

Interestingly, the picture used of the iPad has it playing a video which it has presumably cut the wide edges off because the screen is the wrong aspect ratio.

Anyway, it's all about a high-res laptop (15-17") for my everyday machine, and I've got my 13" ULV notebook for any time I want epic battery life (10hrs, last I measured it, after installing an SSD), although I wouldn't object to that one being 11". Probably wants to have a keyboard though, so tablets would be out for what I use it for.

[wasabi]

For me a laptop / netbook is a secondary device, not the main machine. Probably a cheapish 12 inch Windows based netbook as/when the MSI Wind dies. I need a keyboard and mouse (I hate touchscreens) and a more flexible OS than Android or Apple can provide.

[Pancake]

I think i will end up with something like a Thinkpad X220 Tablet

So 12" laptop/Tablet

[Parm]

I got my other half an iPad a while back, and I'm actually surprised at how much I use it myself. I'm almost always on it first thing in the morning and last thing at night, it's great for quickly browsing the web and catching up with whatever's going on.

But it has its limits, and I don't find it particularly productive. That's why I still travel with my few-year-old Dell Inspiron 1520 laptop. It weighs about as much as a house, and it's at least a few inches thick, but the screen's lovely (1680x1050), the keyboard's great and now that I've got an SSD in it, it's quick enough. Hoping it'll see me through 'till Haswell.

[crossy]

I'm quite happy with my tablet - mainly because it's one of those Transformer's, so I've got no use for a netbook.

Figure that some out there will need Windows, so whatever cheap/small form-factor can run that will suit them - and I mean a proper Windows, not that "Starter Edition".

I suspect that the netbook's will die out (too expensive now) and ultrabooks will stay pretty niche (again, due to expense). So that's tablets and notebooks as the main lines.

[scaryjim]

Since I've already got a 13" ultrabookportable, I certainly won't be looking at a netbook, laptop or ultrabook. I've got a monster desktop at home when I need the power, and the ultraportable does everything a netbook or standard laptop could, plus provides pushing 8 hours of battery life.

I guess that leaves tablet, then Whether I'll get one in the next year is debatable, but there's little doubt in my mind that in the not too distant future I will pick up a 7", 3G-sporting, probably Android tablet. Although I may hold off and see what Windows 8 brings to the party - I'm certainly in no rush to invest as my smartphone does most of the jobs I'd want a tablet to do anyway.