Ivy Bridge laptops

[josejones]

When will the Ivy Bridge laptops be available?

What are some good links for information on them?

Where's the cheapest place to purchase them?

 

[WR2]

Some of the IVB dual core models started showing up on Saturday.

 

[josejones]

I just wanted to post this article here so I wouldn't forget about it or lose it.

Second-Generation Ultrabooks: Faster And Cheaper With Ivy Bridge
http/www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ultrabook-benchmark-review,3213.html

 

[josejones]

Which is best an Ivy Bridge laptop or a new ipad? I've never had either before but, I have to help my mum by picking something out for.

 

[jaguarskx]

Depends on the intended usage. Personally I find an iPad (or any tablet) to be more of a toy than in comparison to a laptop. That is mostly due to the fact that with a laptop running Windows I can run the same types of programs as on my desktop. Additionally, should I want to play games the games I purchase for my desktop can technically be played on the laptop as well. However, playing games on a laptop means lowering game settings to get decent / good performance since graphic cards for laptops are weak in comparison to their desktop counterparts.

iPad / tablets are good for consumption rather than productivity. Consumption includes watching video, surfing the net, typing the occasional e-mail, play some simple games (compared to more complex types of games on a PC; generally speaking), listening to music. I'm sure there are plenty of other things it can do...

While it is possible to be productive using a tablet, it is also very limited in my opinion. For example, using a tablet to type a quick e-mail is one thing. Using it to write a term paper is quite another; yes it can be done if you have no other choice, but a laptop is more ideal. You can use it to track appointments. I'm sure there are some other productive things you can do with an iPad/tablet, but since I don't own one, I suppose I will never find out.

Make your choice based on what your mom wants to do with a "portable device".

 

[josejones]

^ Very well said, jaguarskx. That's exactly what I needed to hear since I've never had a laptop or any ipad/ipod/iphone devices whatsoever.

I suppose it could depend upon how easy the ipad operating system is to learn & get used to i.e. how user friendly it is. She's used to Windows XP so, Win 7 would be fine. I guess she needs to get down to Best Buy to get her hands on an ipad for herself to play around with it to see what she thinks.

She's retired & just wants something easy to tote around for traveling and either would work for that. Battery life would be a factor. Since the laptop is far more powerful it sounds like a new laptop (such as an Ivy Bridge) would last longer before she'd need to upgrade or get a new one??? She doesn't really do much that's really intensive though so an ipad could work & so would a laptop by AMD with the APU. She'll probably get something around Xmas time.

 

[jaguarskx]

Laptops typically lasts 4 - 5 hours with light usage. The generally means just typing. Maybe some occasional web surfing can be done as well. Watching movies can cut that down by 1 or 2 hours depending on the source of the movie. If watching a DVD or Blu-Ray movie then the optical drive needs to be spining all the time so there will be high battery drain. Watching a streaming movie from Netflix or Hulu means the wireless modem will be constantly active. I assume battery drain will be somewhat high. Watching a movie that's on the hard drive probably drains the least amount of battery life, but will still likely cut down the battery life by 1 hour.

Ultrabooks can have battery life of up to 8 hours or more. They are fairly light, but not as light as an iPad. The lightest Ultrabook probably weighs in at 2.9lbs. They have no DVD or Blu-Ray drive and uses solid state drives rather than hard drives. They can be quite expensive.

I think an iPad/tablet will be more ideal for your mom than a laptop. At around 1lbs. +/- some ounces based on whatever you decide to get her, it should be easy to fit into a medium size handbag. As long as she is not going to be working on spreadsheets and typing long documents, then a tablet of some sort should be fine.