New Macbook Air vs Surface Pro vs Samsung ATIV Q

[Jeggs101]

My poor HP is on its last legs. I'd been looking at the Microsoft Surface Pro for the last few months.

Surface Pro Pros: Stylus! Solid screen. Love the keyboard and form factor.
Macbook Air 13" Pros: OSX is still trendy. PCIe SSD. AWESOME battery. Haswell HD5000 GPU. Thunderbolt. ac wifi.
Samsung ATIV Q Pros: Really high resolution screen. Flexible form factor. Touch screen

Surface Pro Cons: Battery life sucks. Still Ivy Bridge. 802.11n only. Not sure if big enough screen for a daily driver.
Macbook Air Cons: No touch screen. Low resolution
Samsung ATIV Q Cons: Don't really like the Android part. Most expensive I hear. Battery not the best but middle of pack

I spent the weekend reading a lot. Can't decide. Anyone have hands-on experience for these yet?

Seems like the Samsung is a compromise. My ideal device is prob a Macbook Air form factor with Windows 8 Pro and a 1920x1200 touchscreen + stylus. Here's the catch: if the MBA 13" was a convertible I'd be able to present with it. I can hold a tablet and walk from podiums when speaking. Can't do with the MBA.

Anyone contemplating similar

 

[dba]

There is another option to consider: The Sony Vaio Pro 13.

It's much lighter than the MBA and nearly as light as the Surface pro. It has a 13" display like the MBA, a 1920x1080 touchscreen like the surface pro, an ultra-fast PCIe SSD like the MBA, and a fast Haswell CPU like the Mac. Like the other Sony carbon fiber notbooks, it's more flexible than rigid, but it is plenty strong.

My poor HP is on its last legs. I'd been looking at the Microsoft Surface Pro for the last few months.

Surface Pro Pros: Stylus! Solid screen. Love the keyboard and form factor.
Macbook Air 13" Pros: OSX is still trendy. PCIe SSD. AWESOME battery. Haswell HD5000 GPU. Thunderbolt. ac wifi.
Samsung ATIV Q Pros: Really high resolution screen. Flexible form factor. Touch screen

Surface Pro Cons: Battery life sucks. Still Ivy Bridge. 802.11n only. Not sure if big enough screen for a daily driver.
Macbook Air Cons: No touch screen. Low resolution
Samsung ATIV Q Cons: Don't really like the Android part. Most expensive I hear. Battery not the best but middle of pack

I spent the weekend reading a lot. Can't decide. Anyone have hands-on experience for these yet?

Seems like the Samsung is a compromise. My ideal device is prob a Macbook Air form factor with Windows 8 Pro and a 1920x1200 touchscreen + stylus. Here's the catch: if the MBA 13" was a convertible I'd be able to present with it. I can hold a tablet and walk from podiums when speaking. Can't do with the MBA.

Anyone contemplating similar

 

[Patrick]

Am in a similar position. Was chatting a bit about it on IRC. I do have the Surface Pro 128GB and I really like the great resolution and stylus.

The Samsung's screen looks great. and I do like the convertible model. The Surface Pro is a good device but I do want a larger screen. I still have my Macbook Air 11" Sandy Bridge and had a Core 2 Duo version of the same. Would certainly go 13" next time and the battery sounds awesome.

Interesting idea dba on that Sony. Price is pretty much in-line although not sure if I'm in love with the $150 external battery option. I do want Windows 8 (or 8.1) without a doubt. Also, it doesn't look like it goes convertible for standing use.

I have to admit, 12+ hours is at or more than my awake time on most international flights including San Francisco to Sydney, Japan or Europe. I do want to see the Samsung in person.

 

[dba]

Of course now I want a PCIe SSD like the Sony and Apple along with a ultra high resolution screen like the Samsung Ativ!

 

[Zuhkov]

I have a 128GB Surface Pro for work and while I love the portability and I'm really liking the 8.1 preview on it, battery life does suck and the screen is just not as big as I like. If they could cram an 11.5-12.5" screen in as near as possible the same form factor and then replace the Ivy Bridge proc with Haswell, I'd be a lot more in love with the Surface Pro.

I'm typing this on a ChromeBook and its 11.6" is better in size (though significantly less nice than the Surface Pro), but for me 13" (or 13.3") is just about perfect. I love my Asus Zenbook Prime.

I'd vote for either that Sony or, if you can wait for it, the announced but not released Zenbook Infinity (AnandTech | ASUS Zenbook Infinity: Hands On with the Most Beautiful Notebook at Computex).

 

[Jeggs101]

Samsung ATIV Q ships in August. Paper launch.