Laptop for less than £700 - what's on the horizon and what should I be looking at?

I've been doing some research around this area, it's for my mother-in-law who happens to be a programming lecturer, so she knows her stuff PC wise, but isn't to up on the latest hardware and options. She's going to be doing a lot of travelling this year having retired from her main job and is looking for a fully flegded x86 machine that is going to offer a proper computing experience (she'll be using it for work), have good battery life (I define this as 5 hours minimum during normal browsing), and is as light as possible.

An ultra book seems like the ideal choice then, but which one?!

Storage space is not an issue, so a 128Gb SSD would be ideal for speed, battery life and weight reduction. I want a machine that has a quality build feel to it, ideally with an IPS panel. This isn't going to be for gaming so the GPU isn't critical, but HD4000 or better would be preferable.

Must haves I would say are:
SSD drive, ideally 128Gb
ULV Core processor (preferably an ivy bridge model, although sandy bridge is also acceptable if other factors are met)
13" screen minimum (older people prefer bigger screens, so this is a good compromise I feel!)
5 hour battery life
Sturdy build quaity


Prefer to have:
IPS screen, ideally higher than 1366x768 but res is less of an issue. If not IPS, then at least a good screen with decent viewing angles. This seems to be the downfall on a lot of the cheap ultrabooks.
Matte / anti-glare screen....another major issue in finding a suitable unit!
Comfortable keyboard, i like the look of the one on the Lenovo Yoga 13 for example. Also a nice large track pad.
Minimum 4Gb RAM (shouldn't be an issue I suspect)

Not important:
DVD drive
USB3


So far I've looked at:

Acer Asipre S3
Samsung Series 5 Ultra
Asus S200
Microsoft Surface Pro
Asus Taichi
Lenovo Yoga 13

I had initially had the idea this should have a tablet option to it, but in retrospect this isn't important for her. A good quality ultra book is what she's needing. Can people point out some models I should be considering, or once which are going to be released in the next 2/3 months?

Two that I like the look off that would meet your spec ( you don't mention budget) are:

1) Macbook Air ( I have this so any questions I can help with)
2) Asus Zenbook Touch U500VZ http://zenbook.asus.com/zenbook/

That Asus is 15" - there is a 13" in that family as well

Budget is in the title kmac!

Can you install Windows onto the Macbook Air? I need to be Windows O/S, maybe a Linux distro as well :)

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Originally Posted by cptwhite_uk

Budget is in the title kmac!

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ooops so it is, my bad

Quote:

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Originally Posted by cptwhite_uk

Can you install Windows onto the Macbook Air? I need to be Windows O/S, maybe a Linux distro as well :)

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I am running my Macbook air with Windows 7 - no issues

MAc OS is a Unix based OS anyway

Air is over budget anyway - recently Amazon had a deal for the 13" Air at £868 so look out for that

The Asus 13" Zenbook is within budget and reviewed here;

http://www.trustedreviews.com/asus-z..._Laptop_review

For £500 this looks like a real cracker, positive reviews generally as well:
http://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/Toshi...hopping#Images

https://outlet.sony.co.uk/shop/VAIO-...T1111C070S.CEK

11inch screen though

One of these...

http://www.schtrade.co.uk/prod/lenov...-80gb-grade-b/

And a new battery.

Why buy modern tat, when you can get 2 year old top end for 130 quid.

Currently looking at upping the budget and getting the Samsung Series 9 NP400X4C...15" 1600x900 screen with 400 nits brightness and decent viewing angles for TN panel, i5-3317U (Ivy Bridge 1.7Ghz, with HD4000), 8Gb RAM, 15mm thick, 128Gb SSD, <10 sec boot time, light sensitive backlit keyboard, typical 7.5 hour battery time (range is 6-10 hours) 1.65Kg...beautiful design and backlit keyboard for £850ish (refurb class A1 with full warranty)

http://cdn2.sbnation.com/entry_photo...super_wide.jpg

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Originally Posted by cptwhite_uk

For £500 this looks like a real cracker, positive reviews generally as well:
http://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/Toshi...hopping#Images

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That's a great laptop for the price. The Acer Aspire S3 in your original list also worth considering

I would Avoid Acer at all costs. They're build quality is utter garbage and they are amongst the highest laptops with fail rates.