<p>I will be entering college this fall & am looking to replace my current laptop for a newer one that will last the next four years.</p>
<p>My current laptop is the Gateway EC1437u--a tiny, light-weight 11.6" notebook (NOT a netbook) that fits in any backpack/large purse. Enjoyed using it for the past couple years but it is cluttered with high school junk and I think it's about time to move on. </p>
<p>I want to stay in the same line of thought by purchasing a new laptop that is also very portable (screen size 13.3" or less) and practical for both personal & academic use. My major will be Biotechnology so I plan to be downloading some softwares but no hardcore coding or gaming. I also will be uploading and editing a lot of photos and videos. I need to have access to Microsoft Office tools like Word & Excel and need good battery life as well. And I do own an iPhone.</p>
<p>My budget is $1500 max. I did some research but I am having difficulty so I decided to enlist the help of my fellow CCers. I'm open to any new suggestions or recommendations especially from science majors. So here is what I've lined up so far in no particular order: </p>
<p>Assuming all of these are new (you can buy refurbs, but on units like the Air, it’s better to buy the new revision actually):</p>
<ol>
<li>11-inch MacBook Air</li>
</ol>
<p>Reasons for: Small, incredibly lightweight, has TB, Apple backlit keyboard + touchpad
Reasons against: better battery life on the 13.3", more cost effective to get 13.3" base</p>
<ol>
<li>Acer Aspire S5</li>
</ol>
<p>Reasons for: Good cooling, has TB
Reasons against: 768p screen. At this price point, Asus offers a 1080p IPS panel. Don’t think there’s a backlit keyboard on this one either. Can’t remember.</p>
<ol>
<li>Dell Inspiron 14z</li>
</ol>
<p>Reasons for: Competitive pricing
Reasons against: Keyboard is meh. 768p screen. No backlit keyboard. Bleh battery, friend has one, but that’s anecdotal.</p>
<p>Thanks for your help with all of those selections! :D</p>
<p>I’m really down to either the Asus Zenbook Prime or the Macbook Air. So tough for me to choose because I don’t want to deal with the compatibility issues I might face with a Mac but at the same time, I’m not a big fan of Windows 8 that’s coming up soon. Don’t want to turn this into a Mac vs. PC debate… lol any help???</p>
<p>What compatibility issues are you thinking of? Boot camping Windows solves the majority of compatibility issues that OS X has. On the flip side, you should have no issues if you run Windows only.</p>
<p>Downloading softwares or programs that are only compatible with windows… Do you think it would be a hassle to boot camp every time or is it really not as much of a problem as I think it is?</p>
<p>When you need your windows partition, all you need to do is hold option key to bring up boot manager, which will allow you to select which operating system you want. It’s pretty painless.</p>
<p>Will you have an external display for your 11" Macbook Air?
I’m aware that vertical space is important for coding and the 16:9 aspect ratio on an 11" display might not be enough without an external display. I owned an 11" Macbook Air for nearly a year and loved it, but I only used it primarily for web browsing, not much else.
Maybe that’s also something to consider?</p>
<p>In terms of hardware quality, the Air wins over the Prime on basically everything but the screen. And though I haven’t used the Prime, I think I’d take some touchpad quirks just to get that awesome matte 1080p IPS display. My current laptop has a matte display, and it is a superior experience to a glossy display, especially in bright light. Advantage: Asus.</p>
<p>Also, if you’re worried about software compatibility, yes, you can run Windows on the Air, but battery life is noticeably worse (maybe 60-70% of what it would be running OS X). It might not be a big drawback if you rely on Windows occasionally, but it would be a mistake to use the Air as a Windows machine almost exclusively. On the other hand, I wouldn’t shy away from a PC because of Windows 8. Not only might it turn out to be good, but no one is forcing you to upgrade.</p>
<p>Lastly, I know you don’t want your decision made more difficult, but as Atemporal suggested, I’d also recommend considering the Samsung Series 9. It also has a great matte display (slightly lower resolution, not quite as great as the Prime, but still better than the MBA), is crazy thin, and pretty much matches the Prime and the Air in terms of performance while being noticeably thinner, lighter, and narrower than those two.</p>
<p>Personally, I’d purchase the one of the three which I could find at the best price. I’d say all three of the ones I mentioned are worth about the same if they’re spec’ed similarly, though the Samsung should be the least expensive of the group. Try to look for a deal, if you care about money.</p>
<p>After looking at all 3 in the store (tax free holiday is coming up and I’m buying one for my dad), maybe my thoughts will help. Note that you really should go into a physical store and try each out before making a decision. I only considered Samsung/Asus/Apple, since the others have inferior screens.</p>
<ol>
<li>Samsung Series 9:</li>
</ol>
<p>Pros: Good screen, elegant design, slightly lighter than the 13" Air. Comparable keyboard to the Air.
Cons: Bleh touchpad. Apple touchpads spoil you.</p>
<ol>
<li>Asus Zenbook Prime:</li>
</ol>
<p>Pros: Same as my previous post.
Cons: After using it, I realized that it kinda digs into your arm the way Macbook Pros do. Began to notice it after 15 minutes, and the sales reps probably thought I was weird for pretty much starting to type a small essay there.</p>
<ol>
<li>Macbook Air 13" (I feel like the screen and battery on the 11" are not worth it):</li>
</ol>
<p>Pros: Everything just works. As much as people can hate on Apple, their engineering team really knows how to integrate everything.
Cons: TN panels, and like all Apple products, you pay a premium just to get that Apple logo.</p>