Last week my 5th laptop power supply died (after two weeks this time – a new low!) I bought my Toshiba Portege M400 Tablet PC 5 years ago (give or take a few months) when they first hit the shores here in the UK. I was just starting consulting again and the Friday before my first gig was due to start there was a mad rush to Tottenham Court Road in London when my online order had failed to arrive even though it had been ordered for over a month. Anyway the M400 has served me well, been thrown across a car park (only a slight crack in the panel – didn’t affect the operation of the tablet) and survived, eaten a few batteries and destroyed a few power supplies. It owes me nothing now (I think it cost about £1500 when I bought it). It was time to get a new laptop.
My needs have significantly changed since that day, I now don’t need a laptop for anything other than couch surfing (consulting at a company where we are not permitted to connect our own devices to the network, been there for quite a while now) – oh and for the trip to San Jose for the IPExpert boot camp. So I wasn’t prepared to pay >£1000 for a laptop – and I am not prepared to have a Mac – much to the amusement of my anything i-loving co-workers.
I wanted something with a core i processor, at least 4GB of RAM, a decent screen and 5GHz wireless (802.11a/n), oh and not too big or heavy, battery-life must be reasonable i.e. > 3-4hrs. And therein presented myself with a problem.
Firstly what has happened to laptop screens in the last five years – I’m sure they should be better than the one in my tablet – higher resolution, nice to look at – but no! In to the stores with their high-powered fluorescent lighting and all the screens in my laptops of compromise looked washed out and awful. I commented to the knowledgeable gent in the store, and he said yes it is true there has been a significant decline in quality over time – unless you want a mac that is! He did however direct me over to what was to become my eventual winner (more on that later), which had a much more acceptable screen (although still far from perfect). I think it comes down to the obsession with HD 16:9 screens and glossy reflective coatings– which allows manufacturers to create low pixel density screens that’ll do 720p just fine – i.e. 1366 x 768 – now I know my tablet was expensive back in 2006 – but I got 1400x1050 back then (oh dear 4:3ish!) and that was on a smaller panel than on this laptop which I am typing! Want a very nice screen, get a mac, apparently!
What is the obsession with the 2.4Ghz unlicensed wireless band – everything is there! I have one concession to Apple in my house – the magnificent airport extreme. Why did I buy an expensive wireless router when there are plenty of cheapo wireless-N routers out there (and even “cheaper” freebies from ISPs). Because 2.4Ghz is crowded – even in my little cul-de-sac – and my wireless gear is in my study which is a long way (in radio terms) from my lounge – 802.11a was the solution, the airport provided it – right tool, right job! Fast forward 5 years (again) and try finding an Intel-based laptop with 802.11a/b/g/n as standard. Whoops, apparently that is the domain of AMD processors or “professional”-grade laptops, oh yes and macs!
Laptops, along with the general population, appear to have put on weight, or become cheap plastic easy-crack paper-weights. A laptop with a numeric keyboard – I don’t want to carry around my desktop! I guess with those 15.6” screens at 1366x768 with pixels as big as your fist, there’s a lot of space to fill in the keyboard space! Again macs are built differently – if I remember correctly even the MacBook pro 15” doesn't have a numeric keypad – just a keyboard lost in a big space of silvery metal-looking stuff.
Battery-life, surely there should have been some improvement by now – but it seems the latest mid-range to high-end processors (or is it those dodgy screens again) suck batteries dry quickly. Go for something down the range (no Intel Core i5 or 7 then!) – or something plastic with very tricky power management, and they claim up to 10 hours – but I am just a little sceptical of these claims. Still a realistic 4 hours would be an improvement on my old Tosh, which could manage 2 at a push when brand new, so one for the 2011 models.
So, as you may have guessed, I didn't buy that MacBook air/pro no matter how many times it looked at me and said – “you know you want to!” I’m a Windows person at heart (for desktop / mobile), and I couldn’t handle the sniggering in the office or the extra cash it would have taken for me to purchase one. I ended up with an S Series Sony Vaio (“form over function after all” as one in the office said) – it meets all my criteria and comes in under the price bar. Yes its only an i3/4GB, but its not my desktop i7/12GB and its not meant to be. Am I happy with it ? Well so far, but that's another post!
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