MacBook haters; suggest me an alternative!

In a month or so, I plan on buying a 13in macbook pro and I feel it is a good match for my needs. I also know that this forum is pretty renowned for apple/mac hate so basically I'm after some suggestions for what you guys think my money could be better spent on, given my requirements.I'm going to be using the device for some cross-platform application development and basic tasks (web, IM, music etc), gaming is not the focus as I have a more than capable rig - though I might choose to play a few steam games on a rare basis.

I would like my laptop to match the following specification/characteristics:

• Good build quality - aluminium or similar. Cheap plastics a definite no
• Portable size/weight. Not looking for anything above 14in
• Longish battery life
• High end Core 2 or greater (i3/i5 pref) - currently using a lappy with ULV CPU and wanting something a bit beefier

The 13in MBP ticks most of my boxes and would cost £858 for the basic model with student discount. I would not like to spend too much more. Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

Dont get the 13in, save and get the 15in Macbook Pro.

http://www.dabs.com/products/hp-6440b-corei3-2-320-14-0-w7-6N4T.html?refs=51340000-52690000-4294948415

best i could find

core i3 320m 2.26ghz, 2gb ram (room for up to 8gb total), windows 7 64 bit professonal, 14", 320gb HDD, intel hd x4500 video chipset, 6.25 hours battery life. has a built in webcam and card reader, office 2007 comes preinstalled with free shipping

total after VAT is £809.9

suggest an alternative? ANYTHING is a better alternative. sorry bout that its just that macs are pointless (except OSX=amazing battery life...)

Well the 13 inch is 1.1k on apple site so I went around that.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834146777

Dont get the 13in, save and get the 15in Macbook Pro.

clyde46

what about sony z series.they are made up of carbon fibre.screen size is 13.3inches.theyre pricey but they have gt330m graphics and core i5 processors and good battery life

Well the 13 inch is 1.1k on apple site so I went around that.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834146777

Espada12

what about sony z series.they are made up of carbon fibre.screen size is 13.3inches.theyre pricey but they have gt330m graphics and core i5 processors and good battery life

onfire23

14 inch envy http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/computer_can_series.do?storeName=computer_store&category=notebooks&a1=Category&v1=ENVY&series_name=ENVY14_series&jumpid=in_R329_prodexp/hhoslp/psg/notebooks/ENVY/ENVY14_series

gamespot wont let me link it :l

looks exactly like the macbook but has a better processor and a gpu capable of playing games

such as link

first look

suggest an alternative? ANYTHING is a better alternative. sorry bout that its just that macs are pointless (except OSX=amazing battery life...)

kungfool69

[QUOTE="kungfool69"]

suggest an alternative? ANYTHING is a better alternative. sorry bout that its just that macs are pointless (except OSX=amazing battery life...)

clyde46

[QUOTE="onfire23"]

what about sony z series.they are made up of carbon fibre.screen size is 13.3inches.theyre pricey but they have gt330m graphics and core i5 processors and good battery life

mrmyles

yeah they're very pricey,even more so in countries other than US.its a pitty i cant buy that because of the price in my country

I'd get the macbook pro girlfriend,great battery life,osx,atheistically pleasing, win, win,win.

[QUOTE="kungfool69"]

suggest an alternative? ANYTHING is a better alternative. sorry bout that its just that macs are pointless (except OSX=amazing battery life...)

clyde46

I have and he is correct. Unless you are using it for editing it's a waste of money. All the things the TC wants are quite petty (imo) except the battery life. He is basically paying a premium for looks and size. The aluminum also makes very little difference......

Sorry but no, better battery life, Win7 Home Premium > Mac OSX, more aesthetically pleasing, better processor, better graphics card capable of high end gaming, better LED display, extremelly portable. AND best of all CHEAPER!!!

Hp Envy Starting at 1100$

Incase anyone else is interested, here's the prices from their official store so you can compare the price and specs to Windows laptops:

http://store.apple.com/uk/browse/home/shop_mac/family/macbook_pro?aid=AIC-WWW-NAUS-K2-CONFIGURE-MACBOOKPRO-INDEX&cp=CONFIGURE-MACBOOKPRO-INDEX

HP Envy 14

Asus U30jc

Asus U43jc / U33jc

Alienware M11x

Lenovo ThinkPad T410

Sony Vaio Z

Acer TimelineX 3820TG / 4820TG

[QUOTE="kungfool69"]

suggest an alternative? ANYTHING is a better alternative. sorry bout that its just that macs are pointless (except OSX=amazing battery life...)

clyde46

i used them for a year for video editing. found i could do exactly the same stuff on PC as i could on the macs (except for Livetype, thats agreat program). I also sell macs every day at work and still think they are pointless.