Ultrabook or hybrid? Thin line divides power and passion

IF you’re buying a notebook, you might be having this conversation: “Do I want a dedicated ultrabook or a pull-apart that also gives me a ­tablet?”

AN ultrabook or hybrid? If you’re buying a notebook, you might be having this conversation: “Do I want a dedicated ultrabook or a pull-apart that also gives me a ­tablet?”

So we’ve looked at a newcomer in each category. Lauded by some as a Windows ultrabook worthy of challenging Apple’s MacBook Air, Dell’s XPS 13 is light and attractive, with a thin bezel, bright screen and comfortable keyboard.

Toshiba has released its Protege Z20t hybrid. Disconnect the keyboard and you have a usable Windows 8 tablet. The Z20t also features lots of ports and connectivity options, and extremely long battery life.

So which way will you go?

Toshiba Protege Z20t

WE are generally lukewarm about hybrids. But we’ve grown to like the Protege Z20t, a Windows 8.1 Pro hybrid with a lower powered Intel Core M-series processor and ­some clever features.

Like some of the Asus Transformers, the Z20t has a second battery in the detachable keyboard that doubles battery life. That means lots of extra juice given the Z20t has a low-energy Core M 5Y71 Broadwell chip set.

What’s clever is the way the Z20t charges and discharges power. When you connect the charger, the Z20t mostly juices-up the tablet’s battery before charging the keyboard one.

So if you disconnect the keyboard, the tablet section is more likely ready to go. Likewise, it discharges the battery attached to the keyboard first so that tablet juice is retained longer.

With the keyboard connected, the battery lasted 13.5 hours when continuous playing video at 75 per cent brightness. That’s enough for watching soapies on a flight all the way from Sydney to Los Angeles.

Cinebench 11.5 tests returned OpenGL and CPU ratings of 16.07 frames per second and 12.93 pts, which is hardly stellar, but the saving grace is that this is a business rather than gaming computer.

The Z20t has four modes: standard ultrabook and tablet modes, a display mode when you reverse the display, and a tent mode: an inverted V. The first three modes were fine, but in tent mode, text tended to be upside down. I got it to work but the screen had to be virtually vertical in tent mode.

You attach the display to two latches on the keyboard. The latches lock, so the tablet part doesn’t detach inadvertently.

There’s a generous smattering of ports on the Z20t. The tablet section has micro SD, micro USB 2.0, micro HDMI connectors and cameras front and rear. Attaching the keyboard adds two full USB 3.0 ports, Gigabit ethernet, a full HDMI port and VGA.

The 12.5-inch touch display has a matt finish; they tend to look a fraction less sharp than glossy ones, but offer less glare and fingerprint smudges. It’s full HD: 1920 x 1080 — 16:9 aspect ratio, which is common for Windows tablets. You also get a digitiser pen.

The keyboard is backlit and comfortable to use, and weightwise the hybrid is comfortably light but not the lightest in market, with the combined weight of 1.51kg. The tablet alone weighs 799g. For comparison, a 13-inch MacBook Air weighs 1.35kg and a 10-inch iPad up to 478g.

At $2000, the Z20t is pricey, and it’s up against a wealth of competition in the hybrid space.

It’s available through Toshiba-authorised business resellers.

Price: $2090
Rating: 8/10

Dell XPS 13

DELL’S XPS 13 has been around for a while, but this year scores a major makeover in a bid to keep it as a frontrunner in the notebook beauty parade.

Dell got out the liposuction machine and reduced some flab around the XPS 13’s middle.

Gone is the aluminium bevel around the edge of the notebook’s screen and keyboard shells, and the new XPS 13 is noticeably smaller, while retaining the same 13.3-inch screen size, when compared to its predecessor.

The dimensions are 304mm x 200mm compared with 316mm x 205mm on the old model. Weight is down to 1.18kg compared with 1.34kg.

The screen, which Dell has dubbed an “infinity display” after the edgeless pools at top hotels, has a minimal black surround and does seem to float in the air. The svelte new package will no doubt cause some severe notebook envy in the mine’s-smaller-than-yours stakes.

Underneath the makeover, there’s not a whole lot of difference between this year’s XPS 13 and last year’s.

The notebook comes in three flavours, the two cheapest of which employ an Intel Core i5 5200u processor and a crisp and pretty 1920 x 1080-pixel screen.

The entry level ($1499) model has 4GB of system memory and a 128GB SSD drive while the middle ($1799) unit, which we tested, gets 8GB of system memory and a 256GB SSD. Neither of these are touchscreen, which makes driving Windows 8.1 annoying.

To get a touchscreen, you have to plump for the top-line ($2199) XPS 13, which also scores a meaty Intel Core i7 processor and more screen resolution at 3200 x 1800 pixels.

The Dell is pretty spare in the port department, with just two USB 3.0 ports, a mini DisplayPort and SD card slot. The chicklet-style keyboard is very good, as is the touchpad. Battery life was OK, but not brilliant. We scored 7.5 hours looping video with the display at 75 per cent.

Boot performance from the ­review unit was very snappy, as was general performance running Windows productivity, video and web browning tasks.

Price: From $1499
Rating: 8.5/10

Conclusion

So which is the best, the Dell or Toshiba? It may depend on your needs. The Dell XPS 13 is lighter, physically smaller and potentially more powerful if you select a high-end Core i7 model.

Given it’s a Windows 8.1 — and soon Windows 10 — there seems little point in selecting a non-touch model.

The Toshiba Protege Z20t is less powerful, a bit heavier, but is a pull-apart. Take it on a plane, and you’ve got a tablet you can conformably use in economy class.

Its biggest attributes are extraordinary battery life and plentiful connections. It is expensive for the processing power you get.

To pick between the two is hard. The Dell offers better value when it comes to processing power and — given its sleek looks, overall sexiness and the fact that it’s smaller and lighter — scrambles across the line.