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DailyTech Poll Discussion Do You Want an Ultrabook/Ultrathin Laptop?
Jason Mick (Blog) - January 15, 2012 2:52 PM
Print 13 comment(s) - last by bug77.. on Jan 20 at 8:38 AM
Do you think ultrabooks are the next great thing or just a bunch of hype. Let us know your thoughts!

Are you interested in buying an ultrathin/ultrabook?
  • Yes, I want to buy an Intel Ivy Bridge ultrabook -- even if I have to pay a bit more, the fast CPU is worth it! (613 votes)
  •  
    17%
  • Yes, I want a $500 Trinity ultrathin -- the graphics sound good and the price sounds better! (1,218 votes)
  •  
    35%
  • Maybe, but only if those Windows 8 ARM ultrathins appear. (171 votes)
  •  
    5%
  • No I'm not upgrading this year, but next upgrade I might buy one. (493 votes)
  •  
    14%
  • No way, ultrabooks are a bunch of empty hype! (1,027 votes)
  •  
    29%

  • 3,522 total votes

Comments     Threshold


This article is over a month old, voting and posting comments is disabled
Can't I get a $1000 Trinity ultralight?
By MrTeal on 1/16/2012 2:42:03 PM , Rating: 0
Any Trinity ultrathin at $500 is going to be a POS. At that price you'll be dealing with a plasticy chassis, possibly a 1.8" HDD in order to keep prices down, and a crap screen.

The cost savings between a $250 17W i5 and whatever a 17W Trinity costs isn't going to slash $500+ off the price of a laptop. If they want to get to that price point, it will have to come out of the rest of the build.




By Menoetios on 1/16/2012 6:28:52 PM , Rating: 2
Yeah, $500 is overly optimistic. Can't see how you'd squeeze a decently sized SSD in at that price point. However, they're still ~3-6 months away, so that might help. If AMD manages to snag some decent design wins, it'll probably mirror their current offerings. $100-150 less than equivalent Intel-based chassis for worse CPU and better GPU under same TDP.


RE: Can't I get a $1000 Trinity ultralight?
By Denigrate on 1/17/2012 10:05:27 AM , Rating: 2
It's more like $300+ for the Intel chip, and will probably be around $100-$150 for the AMD chip. Considering the lower end Ultrabooks are supposed to be around $700, $500 isn't that overly optimistic. I'm guessing there will be $700 Trinity ultrathins that will satisfy your craving.


RE: Can't I get a $1000 Trinity ultralight?
By MrTeal on 1/17/2012 11:22:16 AM , Rating: 2
How do you figure? The i5-2557M has an MSRP of $250, and I'm sure that the OEMs aren't paying that price for them.

Even then, the cheapest Ultrabook I've seen is the Toshiba Portege Z835-P330, at $800 MRSP. Good luck finding one at that price though, they're $950 on Amazon. Even at that price, you're getting 1366x768 and a lower end i3. I've never used one hands on, but reviews seems to say that the keyboard and keyboard have pretty serious flex as well.

So yes, you might be able to buy a $500-$700 Ultrathin, but no matter what CPU you put into it you will have to sacrifice so much to get that form factor at that price point that it will be an overly compromised product. If you have $500 or $700 to spend on a laptop, you'd be much better served getting a traditional, heavier model. Either way it will be a mostly plastic affair, but at least the bigger model won't be so flimsy.


By StanO360 on 1/17/2012 11:44:57 AM , Rating: 2
Remember that the cost is also peripherals and the board. Maybe Trinity reduces those costs as well. Either way, hopefully there will be a choice of quality. Though for most people it's a second home computer anyway and not for travel so the bang for buck equation still may not work.


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