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After months of scraping by with my beloved but terrible HP Pavilion tx1000, I’m waffling between two “ultrabooks”—very thin and light notebooks powerful enough for office-type use. Do any of you own these laptops, know anything about these laptops or manufacturers, or have suggestions for similar ultrabooks? (Except for the Macbook Air. I’m just not a Mac person.)
Both have 128GB solid state drives, 4GB of RAM, and Intel Core i5 processor chips.
Lenovo IdeaPad U300s - 10802AU
The Lenovo is said to have an awesome keyboard, which is nice since I’m a very fast touch typist and I’ll be doing a lot of writing. Most other ultrabook keyboards sound like they wouldn’t agree with me. It apparently runs cool, quiet, and fast, due to a good ventilation system. At about 5-6 hours of normal use, battery life is decent-to-good. Major gripes include a screen with very small viewing angles—meaning it’s hard to see from anywhere but front-and-center—and the fact that it has sharp edges in weird places, making typing sometimes a pain. It’s about $979 from the Lenovo website.
HP Folio 13-1020US
I’ve been reading really good things about the HP Folio (sleek, pretty, backlit keyboard, good performance) except for some heat, a loud fan, and a bad, washed-out, overly glossy screen. Because I’ve had a terrible experience with my HP Pavilion—really hot, really loud, and doesn’t get internet without a USB adapter—I’m deathly afraid of heat and fan noise. I’m actually also deathly afraid of HP and their terrible customer service, but the Folio appears to be a fairly solid machine.
Does anyone own or know the Folio and can confirm or deny those downsides? Its keyboard is decent, but its battery life is phenomenal at 7 hours of normal use, which is almost a deal-maker all on its own. It’s about $999, but if I buy this, I’m suspicious enough of HP products that I’ll have to try and get a two- or three-year warranty.
I’m leaning towards the Lenovo, though the HP is definitely cooler-looking (because I am shallow and easily swayed by aesthetics) and has a far better battery life, which is a huge plus. Any thoughts?
l0st-1n-a-galaxy-f0rever likes this
hardtoholdon answered:
maybe you should get the hp folio :-)
mickster17 likes this
vitiose answered:
As a previous Pavilion owner, I relate to the problems you’ve experienced, however my cousin tells me the Folio is great and worth the money
perfidypernicious answered:
I just got an ideapad and I really adore it—it is the best laptop I’ve ever had & I don’t see any reason I won’t be buying Lenovos for life!
odi7ec likes this
bausteine answered:
wait for the ASUS transformer book with Windows 8 imo
snixie223 answered:
Just bought a Lenovo (not the one you’re looking at, a much cheaper model) and so far I am loving it.
duarteinacan answered:
I don’t think there’s no such thing as a “not mac person” :) All the problems you’re saying are avoided by buying a mac.
kelseyysuee answered:
Go for the Lenovo. HP tends to preload a lot of unnecessary programs onto their computers, and the Lenovo will last you a few years.
timwhisky answered:
just bout hp pavillion dv6 its amazing and about 500 bucks bought it from staples
cavalierzee answered:
I have none of those, so I can’t give you good advice, sorry.
onceinarainstorm answered:
The folio’s really light, easy to carry around, and looks better, but the lenovo is much more reliable and will last longer.
obliviates likes this
applepietree likes this
ohmycarling answered:
all i know is that lenovo is incredibly reliable, and i’ve liked every lenovo product i’ve used. they take a beating.
fortheloveofelvis likes this
magnaliuminosity answered:
I’m going to be honest and not answer your q directly by saying 1k seems like A LOT for an ultrabook, but I haven’t been shpping lately
theriacs answered:
The IdeaPad’s pretty solid, but you may want to also consider the Toshiba Portege R835-P56X. Look up its review on cnet.
imjessrackley answered:
My computer is Lenovo. I recommend them.
secondchancerelapse answered:
I had a Lenovo. It was horrible. The battery & hard drive were shot after a year and a half. But their Ultrabook may be different/better now.
azande answered:
Have you considered a Mac? MacBook Air are in the same price range and very reliable
littleorangefish answered:
Lenovos are very reliable. I have my dad’s old one and it still runs after 8 years. I also just got a Thinkpad for college and it’s amazing.
pookascrayon answered:
I used to be a Compaq/HP person, and finally gave up. I’m on my second Toshiba, and love them.
brightlycoloredbooks answered:
I don’t own either of these computers, but if it makes any difference the reviews I’ve read all seem to favor the Folio.
fakingme answered:
Lenovo. The IdeaPad is a very durable laptop said to last a long time, while the HP has a history of breaking immediately after the exp date.
villings answered:
man up and get a desktop computer, not a toy
other-wordly posted this
