Ultrabooks top every student’s ‘ must- have’ list
A buying guide to the latest models that offer the biggest bang for your back- to- school buck
Entering schools’ increasingly digital classrooms in the fall requires some slick hardware to supplement the oldfashioned pen and paper. Notebooks, the electronic kind, still top 2012’ s list of “must- haves” for busy students, but this year’s ultrabook craze is setting new standards for back- to- school gadget forms and functionality.
“What you get [ from an ultrabook] is the thinnest, lightest laptop computer on the market with the best specs,” said Elliot Chun, spokesman for Future Shop.
Parents and students have so many choices available to them that investing in electronics can be confusing, but it doesn’t have to be. Here are three notebooks to be on the lookout for that will give you the most bang for your buck, regardless of whether you’re a budget- minded shopper or a power user out for the latest and greatest.
High End: Ultrabook — Samsung Series 9 NP900X3C- A01 — $ 1,299.99
The Samsung Series 9’ s efficient, trim and featherlight construction is a close esthetic twin for Apple’s hugely popular MacBook Air, but with a price tag to match.
What you get for the princely sum of almost $ 1,300 is a solidly- built portable weighing in at a little over 1 kg that comes parcelled with impressive battery life benchmarked at nearly seven hours of moderate use and a bright, high- res ( 1600x900), 13.3inch display. Throw in a 1.7 Ghz Core i5- 3317U processor, 4 GB of RAM, 128 GB solid state drive ( SSD), a card reader, Ethernet port, Wi- Fi and Bluetooth capabilities plus two USB ports
one each for USB 2.0 and 3.0 and it’s apparent the Series 9 packs a lot of punch in its svelte frame.
Mid- range: Notebook — Apple MacBook Air 11.6 inch — Starting at $ 999.99
The granddaddy that sparked Intel’s decision to push the traditional notebook one step closer to extinction with the ultrabook concept is still going strong. The new MacBook Air received some internal upgrades this year, the most significant being thirdgeneration Core CPUs in i5 and i7 flavours, along with a host of small, but welcome changes like faster RAM and two USB 3.0 ports to accompany Thunderbolt.
The $ 999 entry- level model runs on a Core i5 processor with a 64 GB SSD and features the same sleek design that launched a thousand ultrabooks. Higher- end models running the i7 can be configured with larger SSDs, up to 512 GB, and a fully decked out machine will cost more than $ 2,000. It’s powerful enough to zip seamlessly between productivity software and your favourite HD movies and the 30- day standby battery life ( around five hours continuous, moderate usage) means you can put the MacBook Air to sleep, come back three weeks later and power it up instantly.
Dell’s latest incarnation of the Inspiron 14z is one of several sensible budget options available to buyers in the market for an ultrabook, but who don’t want to shell out a lot of cash. The 14z is something of a oddity among its brethren in that it comes with an optical and 500 GB hard drives plus a 32 GB SSD. The extra hardware puts this entry- level ultra at slightly under 2 kg, which may put off users looking for a lighter option.
The upside is the 14z has ample horsepower to handle most tasks, including basic video editing and light mobile gaming if you spring for a separate graphics processor found in the $ 899 model. But with battery life clocking in at around five hours of moderate use, the laptop’s power conservation is at the low end of the longevity spectrum compared to other ultras like the Series 9.
However, even with its marginal battery life shortfalls, the 14z strikes a nice balance between the three Ps: performance, portability, and price.
Regardless of what you’ll be buying for back- to- school, it always works to your advantage to know exactly what you’re after before stepping into a store.
Most retailers have knowledgeable staff on site to offer advice to shoppers in need of a helping hand.
“Asking lifestyle questions about how consumers use their technology is extremely important,” said John Kennedy, Future Shop store manager. “Customers are coming in very knowledgeable. They know what technology exists on the market but they may not know what they want to do with it. We help match the right tech with their lifestyle.”
Most back- to- school sales already feature lower- than- normal prices, but it never hurts to ask retailers if they offer student pricing on top of sale discounts. Dell Canada and Apple offer their usual raft of student and educational bargains ranging from special offers and gift cards to straight- up cash savings, while some stores will match competing prices.
But be mindful of discounts that require you to spend a certain amount before the benefits kick in. There are times when it’s better to forgo a student offer if you can save a couple of hundred dollars in the process by not buying costly add- ons you don’t need.