It Has Arrived...
The wait is over. As of this moment I am typing on my new 11.6" Ultrabook Convertible Laptop and, so far, I'm rather fond of it.
Before I purchased this device, I actually went around and tried a number of different devices from a number of different manufacturers. The simple truth is, I picked this one because of what I wanted it to do. I can't promise this would be ideal for anybody else, but in the short time I've been using it, it's pretty nice.
Even though I had spent time with the device in the store before I ordered it (I couldn't get the configuration I wanted pre-made at any retail location), I was pleasantly surprised when it arrived and I removed it from the box. It comes in just over 3 pounds, but I honesty can hardly tell the difference between this and the MacBook Airs that I've been setting up at work. The other nice thing about this device is the fact that it's much sturdier feeling than I thought it would be. At the retail locations they're always locked down with chunky alarm systems so you can't get a good feel for how convertible it really was. This is a great convertible.
I must say that the thought and care that went into the packaging of this device rivals that of Apple's products. It was a nice presentation from the moment I opened the box to the moment I first turned the device on.
Coming from the world of Apple, there have been some bumps in the road, but nothing I didn't expect and something I'll get into more detail tomorrow or the day after depending on how things go the next couple of days at work - I'm prepping and deploying over 500 MacBook Airs.
Right off the bat, this is what I can say:
I'm impressed with the hardware I'm currently typing on. This is likely the best keyboard I've ever used.
The track pad could use a little work. It doesn't feel as responsive nor quite as accurate as Apple track pads. This is not a surprise as I've heard this about many PC Manufacturers. The track pad doesn't suck, but it's got some glitch to it.
Touch screen on a laptop is GOOD - Apple fudged that one. With iPads and Android Tablets and smart phones galore everybody wants to touch the screen on their computer to make things happen. I was doing this before I sold my MacBook Pro to begin this experiment, so I'm right at home here.
I suspect that if Apple were making a true convertible laptop right now, I may not have even started this blog or thought to abandon their ecosystem.
The Windows Store needs some more apps. I don't know what they're doing to drive away their developers, but they need to fix it quick.
There needs to be the requisite social networking apps - Facebook, Google+ and the like. I know you can get there from the web, but it would be nice to have a tablet interface for when I've converted into Tablet mode.
Netflix and Hulu both win.
I am strangely enamored with the Start Screen version of IE.
Most Windows 8 style apps are better than their Desktop Equivalents. Focus is good - clutter is bad.
I miss the menus from earlier version of Office and find myself trying to make sense of the Ribbons - something I never had to do in Mac since the menu items were still there. Thankfully, the keyboard shortcuts work, so I'm not at a complete loss.
There's much more, but I do need to get some sleep so I can try to finish the deployment by the end of the week.
Over all first impressions:
Pretty darn good.
Before I purchased this device, I actually went around and tried a number of different devices from a number of different manufacturers. The simple truth is, I picked this one because of what I wanted it to do. I can't promise this would be ideal for anybody else, but in the short time I've been using it, it's pretty nice.
Even though I had spent time with the device in the store before I ordered it (I couldn't get the configuration I wanted pre-made at any retail location), I was pleasantly surprised when it arrived and I removed it from the box. It comes in just over 3 pounds, but I honesty can hardly tell the difference between this and the MacBook Airs that I've been setting up at work. The other nice thing about this device is the fact that it's much sturdier feeling than I thought it would be. At the retail locations they're always locked down with chunky alarm systems so you can't get a good feel for how convertible it really was. This is a great convertible.
I must say that the thought and care that went into the packaging of this device rivals that of Apple's products. It was a nice presentation from the moment I opened the box to the moment I first turned the device on.
Coming from the world of Apple, there have been some bumps in the road, but nothing I didn't expect and something I'll get into more detail tomorrow or the day after depending on how things go the next couple of days at work - I'm prepping and deploying over 500 MacBook Airs.
Right off the bat, this is what I can say:
I'm impressed with the hardware I'm currently typing on. This is likely the best keyboard I've ever used.
The track pad could use a little work. It doesn't feel as responsive nor quite as accurate as Apple track pads. This is not a surprise as I've heard this about many PC Manufacturers. The track pad doesn't suck, but it's got some glitch to it.
Touch screen on a laptop is GOOD - Apple fudged that one. With iPads and Android Tablets and smart phones galore everybody wants to touch the screen on their computer to make things happen. I was doing this before I sold my MacBook Pro to begin this experiment, so I'm right at home here.
I suspect that if Apple were making a true convertible laptop right now, I may not have even started this blog or thought to abandon their ecosystem.
The Windows Store needs some more apps. I don't know what they're doing to drive away their developers, but they need to fix it quick.
There needs to be the requisite social networking apps - Facebook, Google+ and the like. I know you can get there from the web, but it would be nice to have a tablet interface for when I've converted into Tablet mode.
Netflix and Hulu both win.
I am strangely enamored with the Start Screen version of IE.
Most Windows 8 style apps are better than their Desktop Equivalents. Focus is good - clutter is bad.
I miss the menus from earlier version of Office and find myself trying to make sense of the Ribbons - something I never had to do in Mac since the menu items were still there. Thankfully, the keyboard shortcuts work, so I'm not at a complete loss.
There's much more, but I do need to get some sleep so I can try to finish the deployment by the end of the week.
Over all first impressions:
Pretty darn good.
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