This is the third and final post on the Ultrabook that I received from Intel to evaluate.
Whenever you receive a new piece of hardware, whether it is from work, you buy it yourself, or you are able to get one for evaluation, there is always a honeymoon phase. You know what I am talking about, its that feeling you get when you take it out of the box, it has all the plastic protecting every surface, you open it with delicate fingers not wanting to smudge it or smear it or even breathe on it wrong. The phase can last a few weeks or a few months, but ultimately, it starts to end up being thrown into your backpack just like every other gadget you own. It is in the “The honeymoon is over” stage that you can really evaluate your hardware. Does it have an annoying bug that just drives you crazy? Did the sheen wear off the outside? Does it weigh down your backpack like a ton of bricks?
I have to say that while the Intel Ultra book has a few things that I wish would work better, it actually has become my main machine. In so much as I have started to not take my back-up machine with me when I travel.
First, the things I wish I could fix. Number one, being a presenter, I am always, well… presenting, so not having a VGA output can be a pain, most rooms, stages, offices are only equipped with VGA so I had to make a couple of purchases. I bought two different items, a Mini HDMI to VGA M/F Adapter, and just to make sure I could always connect, I also purchased a USB to VGA converter witch helped me to present wherever I go.
Second, the mouse pad is just WAY too sensitive. Although I don’t hold this against the machine at all most laptops I have have this problem, if I even look in the direction of the mouse pad, it seems to sense the touch and move the mouse which does not help when you are coding in front of a crowd.
Lastly, the cord for this thing is a absolute brick. I think it weighs more that the ultrabook itself. It takes up a bit of room in the bag too since the cord attached to it is the big think non bending kind too.
But that being said, there is much more to like about this Intel Ultrabook then not. The sleek design that I like when I took it out of the box is still turning heads when I bring it out in public. I am always asked where it can be purchased. It is still rugged enough to handle my lugging it through airports and conferences. It is also my only machine that has the SLAT compatibility I need to do my Windows Phone Development, which has been a life saver. In addition, the touch screen and other sensors have been a great help with my windows 8 development as well.
So All in All, after using it for a good 5 months now, I will continue to be using this as my main machine for quite a while, and since I have 6 other laptops sitting around my office right now, that says a ton about how much I like this device.
