Is an ultraportable laptop a suitable primary computer?

May 7, 2008 12:58 PM

Ultraportable laptop as primary computer? Yea or nay?

I'm looking at replacing my beloved but dying 5-year old Vaio with a newer, smaller model. I am particularly interested in the Sony TZ series with 11" screens. I am wondering whether there's enough computing power in one of these to serve as my only computer. I'll be carrying it with me to class every day, so weight is of the essence, but I'll also be wanting to occasionally use Photoshop and mess with large Excel files. Otherwise I'll mostly be using it for web surfing, IM, Skype, maybe watching movies or downloaded TV shows.

Will it be so slow and crashy as to drive me insane? Will the tiny screen drive me insane? (I am looking at Sony in particular because they have great-looking screens; only Macs have better ones in my opinion, and Mac support is crappy at my school.)

If anyone uses an ultraportable in this way, please share your experiences. And please recommend any specific models you've had good experiences with - I'm prepared to spend $3000+ on a Vaio but wouldn't at all mind spending less.

posted by Mr Bunnsy to computers & internet (23 comments total)

I use my Thinkpad X61 in almost this exact way. Because I use it every day, I opted for 2GB of RAM. I've had no problems with it running Photoshop CS3 and I actually enjoy the small screen when I'm portable. It's the cat's pajamas on planes and I've found it to be great in meetings & classrooms too because it is so small and inconspicuous. In other words, it's not a barrier between me and the meeting/class.

Hope this helps.
posted by stuboo at 1:10 PM on May 7, 2008

I say nay to the Sony, only because of the processor. 1.2GHZ ULV isnt really suited for doing things like Photoshop. The screen issue can be resolved by buying an external monitor.

The Lenovo U110 is also 11" and has a beautiful screen. It does have a 1.6GHZ LV C2D and should perform considerably better.
posted by wongcorgi at 1:13 PM on May 7, 2008

My only suggestion if you go this way is to invest in a nice docking station, a big LCD screen for it, an external hard drive and a keyboard and mouse combo.

This way, when you're home, it feels just like a desktop computer.
posted by PowerCat at 1:13 PM on May 7, 2008

I used to use a 12" Mac laptop as my primary computer for a year or two. Including lots of Photoshop and other 'heavy' work, and it was fine. (Apple doesn't make a 12" or smaller model now, but the MacBook Air is certainly powerful enough.)

If you're sold on Apple's screens but can't use OSX at school, install Windows instead.

For PCs, I agree Sony's screens are better than any others. I think as long as you have lots of RAM you'll be fine.
posted by rokusan at 1:16 PM on May 7, 2008

To follow up: I like the specs of Thinkpads and a lot of people swear by them, but we used them at work and I've seen many of them fail in very spectacular and exciting ways. Which is why I can't bring myself to buy one. I am theoretically open to the idea of running Windows on a Mac.
posted by Mr Bunnsy at 1:28 PM on May 7, 2008

You should be looking at the configurations to see if its enough to get you through. It doesn't matter whether its a regular laptop or a UMPC as long as it has some decent configurations.

invest in a nice docking station, a big LCD screen for it, an external hard drive and a keyboard and mouse combo.

Seconding that.
posted by WizKid at 1:46 PM on May 7, 2008

Seconding the docking station/ LCD screen/ etc. suggestion by PowerCat.

My experience is rather different - I use a MacBook Pro as my primary computing system, but found it too heavy to lug around campus. I now leave it at home plugged into a Wacom Bamboo, a 17" widescreen LCD, a wireless bluetooth keyboard, and an external hard drive; when I'm tooling around town I use an Asus EeePC. I don't do much Excel or Photoshop work though - it's mainly for taking notes during lectures and when doing research at libraries. The EeePC can handle IMing/ surfing with ease most of the time. From your post, though, it doesn't sound like this would be the solution you're looking for.

One of the best purchases I've ever made was the extra LCD monitor, by the way. No more having to sort through several different open windows - everything I need is right there.
posted by WalterMitty at 1:52 PM on May 7, 2008

Nthing a nice display, a mouse, and a keyboard for when you're at home.

I used a 12" PowerBook for my primary computer for a couple years. Strictly screen-wise, I'd say it was sufficient but not ideal - the size drove me nuts when looking at big spreadsheets and working in InDesign and Photoshop.
posted by peachfuzz at 2:01 PM on May 7, 2008

Ultraportable? I have a rep that swears by his Flybook. He uses it as his primary computer for business so it should be able to push your apps.
posted by doorsfan at 2:08 PM on May 7, 2008

I just purchased a TZ series Vaio for my wife back around Christmas-time. In it's default configuration, the things you're talking about doing were indeed painfully slow...but once I "upgraded" the included copy of Vista to Windows XPSP2, it became a regular little powerhouse. Her only complaint since is that she's not crazy about the keyboard.

The model I bought her (which escapes me at the moment) was about 2 grand over the XMas holidays.
posted by JaredSeth at 2:11 PM on May 7, 2008

The TZ is a terrible computer. I would not recommend it, battery life is short, it's slow and ridiculously expensive for what you get out of it. A docking station is a must for any computer, but really, do not waste your money on the Sony TZ. If you want a Windows based ultraportable, check out the Thinkpad X300. The MacBook Air is also a nice machine if you don't need the optical drive or a plethora of ports.

If you like the TZ just because of the size as an 11" notebook and weight doesn't matter, I'm not sure. But really, I strongly advise against it. Strongly. Really strongly. It's awful.
posted by cgomez at 2:27 PM on May 7, 2008

I wouldn't call any of the Apple notebooks "ultraportable". The MBA is ultrathin, but the surface area is actually larger than a Macbook. Carrying it around in one hand and tossing it around isn't something you're gonna do.
posted by wongcorgi at 3:02 PM on May 7, 2008

I have a relative who is the CEO of a tech company and who also travels a lot. He traditionally gets a new laptop every 12-18 months. He maxes them out in every respect as a matter of course when it comes to memory and storage.

His last upgrade was from a "then state of the art" 17" Sony laptop to the very machine you ask about.

He loves it and says it's the most useful computer he's ever had.

If I were not in a business where I simply need more screen real estate, I'd probably buy a similarly sized computer. There's a lot to be said for the transportability bump one gets from an 11" screen over a larger one.
posted by imjustsaying at 3:13 PM on May 7, 2008

I have a Samsung Q1 (with usb keyboard) that I planned on using as my primary PC. However, it hasn't turned out that way. I do use it on a daily basis, but at home I usually use my girlfriend's old ibook. When I bought it, size was the most important factor (and I couldn't afford a OQO).

I like it a lot, but unless you need something that small (or just want a small 2nd computer), I wouldn't recommend getting a UMPC due to screen size, processing power, and HD space.
posted by toddst at 3:20 PM on May 7, 2008

I have an X61 Lenovo like stuboo. I can attest that it can weigh on a shoulder after awhile. The U110 looks pretty good these days for ultraportablity. If you really mean light Photoshop, like cropping and some rudimentary color correction, then you'll be okay with either. If you mean radial blurring and lens effects and things of that nature, then it might be sluggish.
posted by tcv at 3:31 PM on May 7, 2008

I use a Sony VAIO UX as my primary computer. It's a bit bigger than the OQO. The only thing I don't do on it is play games. I carry it practically everywhere, and love it. I've had it for about nine months. This is my third UMPC; I used an earlier UX model before this for about a year, and a Sony U70 before that. I've been very impressed by the quality of Sony hardware - I drop these things all the time - but they sure do load up the crapware. The UX runs Vista satisfactorily, as long as you turn off all the Aero Glass crap.

Using a UMPC does take some getting used to, though. It has a tiny chiclet keyboard suitable only for thumb-typing. I do have a folding Bluetooth keyboard, but don't carry it most of the time. At work and at home, I use it with a docking station. You will definitely want docking stations for regular use, wherever you regularly use your computer, if it's a subnotebook or ultraportable. To me, though, that's a small price to pay for having a computer with me all the time. As a bonus, you don't have to take it out of the bag at airport security.

I don't know how well it'd run Photoshop, but I use it for development - it runs Eclipse quite nicely, along with various application servers and databases. It's a little skimpy for application development, but not as bad as I'd expected.

If you're looking for something a little larger, though, I'd strongly recommend the Lenovo Thinkpad X61s. They're the "fleet" laptop at my company, and we've had very few problems with them.
posted by me & my monkey at 5:47 PM on May 7, 2008

I used the ultraportable Fujitsu P7010 (and its predecessor, the P5020) for ~3 years as my only computer. I loved it. 4 lbs, 6+ hrs battery life (with a dual battery) meant it was super-convenient to take and use everywhere. I probably used it 6-10 hrs / day. I had a monitor and keyboard that I used when I was at my desk, but just used the built-in LCD the rest of the time.

I say yay.
posted by zippy at 7:18 PM on May 7, 2008

I bought an Asus Eee for the same reasons you describe -- notes, occasional web surfing, &c. -- and it's more or less replaced my Macbook as my primary system, which has come as quite a surprise.

That said, there are some things that just aren't pleasant on an ultraportable. I can't imagine tapping out a 20-page paper on the Eee's tiny keyboard, or doing graphics/video stuff/spreadsheets without ample screen real estate. However, the benefits of light, cheap, fast secondary system more than make up for it.

So, why not spend $2700 on a standard-sized Vaio and $300 on a cheap ultraportable?
posted by ecmendenhall at 9:29 PM on May 7, 2008

I use a thinkpad x61t as you describe - it's fine. Max out the memory, and get an external screen, mouse, hard drive. Best of both worlds.
posted by primer_dimer at 2:09 AM on May 8, 2008

Throwing in a cautionary note here - if you tend to travel in and out of the US much there are a recent series of horror stories regarding customs poking through and seizing the contents of laptop or mobile hard drives and memory under the logic that a hard drive is effectively a small electronic suitcase filled with data and customs are allowed to rummage through suitcases. See the EFF for better details than I can give.

If you plan to travel frequently this may be a factor - whether true or not there's enough angry squawking it's put me off getting even a cheap trips-only lappy.
posted by stelas at 5:42 AM on May 8, 2008

I also used a small fujitsu as a mostly-primary computer for a number of years. The keyboard is a little small, but I definitely got used to it, but I think the biggest problem I had was the lcd resolution. It's pretty high for that small of a screen (especially with the VAIOs), and I ended up feeling a little squinty after about 7 hours of paper-writing.

So things on the screen will probably be small. If you can deal with it, I'd say go for it. I just recently got a MacBook, and I sometimes miss the tiny smallness of my old (dead) laptop.
posted by that girl at 6:12 AM on May 8, 2008

Yes, you can certainly use this class of laptop as a primary computer. You will want to spend as much as you can afford on RAM, especially since you'll be using Vista, no doubt. If the machine tops out at 2GB of RAM, look for something else.

The advice about external keyboard/mouse/monitor is good, but in a pinch you'll probably be happy with the laptop as is, or with nothing more than an external mouse (I love trackpads, but sometimes an external mouse is simply easier/a relief to use). If you do plan to use external peripherals at home, invest in a docking station or port replicator...the ability to plug the laptop into one thing and have all the peripherals come alive is wonderful.
posted by lhauser at 2:28 PM on May 8, 2008

To follow up, very very late, I ended up buying a Sony Vaio TZ285N (11" screen, 2 gigs of RAM, solid state HD) and I LOVE IT. It ran a bit slow with Vista, but Sony was kind enough to provide an XP downgrade disk.

With XP it runs just fine, I can use MS Office, Photoshop, etc with little or no lag. There is just as much screen real estate as on some larger versions (1366x768 resulution), it weighs nothing, and the battery life is very close to the promised five hours. I can carry it around in my purse all day, and stop for hours at cafes to use it without plugging in. Definitely not a gaming machine, but enough power to be a perfect go-anywhere computer.
posted by Mr Bunnsy at 8:24 PM on August 7, 2008