$100 Gift Card Deal at Amazon.com Ends on Saturday. Here’s Chippy’s Choice!

Posted on 17 July 2012, Last updated on 17 July 2012 by

Amazon.com have been running the $100 Gift Card Promotion on Ultrabooks for a while now but it ends on Saturday the 21st July. It’s a good week to buy though because there are some new 2nd-gen Ultrabooks in stock now. If you’ve been waiting, strike now! UltrabookGiftCard_SummerSale

Chippy’s Choice

I’ve spent some time going through the offers available and I’ve come up with a selection to suit different types of buyer. Take a look below… Here’s a link to all the Ultrabooks available in the promotion right now.

Back To School Ultrabook

Don’t wait until the last minute to buy a laptop for your return to school. You need time to set-up and learn how to use your Ultrabook, especially if this is your first Win 7 PC. I have been looking at the Lenovo U310 favorably and there’s a great offer available today but I’m saying ‘hold off’ on it at the moment due to a number of reports of poor WiFi performance.  Lenovo appear to me taking a closer look at this. [Interesting forum thread on the U310 Wifi issue here.] There’s a lot to choose from in this category. Beware of the Core i3 models though as some of them are using the older Sandy Bridge CPU.

  • Sony Vaio T 13.3 Core i5 – $780
  • Samsung Series 5 NP530C Core i5 – $829
  • Toshiba U845 Core i5 – $879
  • Lenovo U410 Core i5 – $899
  • Dell Inspiron 14z Core i5 – $799

The Sony Vaio T is definitely worth a second look as is the Samsung Series 5 which is based on the older, and trusted, 1st-gen model but we’ve chosen an HP as the #1 choice in this section. Hp Envy 4t

HP Envy 4 1030US Core i5 – $812 4GB, Discreet Graphics, 52Wh battery, 500GB Hybrid HDD, Backlit keyboard, Beats Audio, Intel 2×2 WiFi Card, HDD drop protection, 2 DIMM slots. No VGA port.

The Envy 4 Ultrabook is also available in a Core i3 version too (at $699 from HP) but we’re not recommending that one. Go for the Ivy-Bridge based Core i5 1030us which came into the Amazon selection just 48 hours ago. [Link. EAN Code: 0887111102690. 4GB RAM is expected, not 6GB. 500GB HDD is expected not 640GB as stated on Amazon.]

 

Best $1K Ultrabook

Moving up a step to the $1K bracket brings in the SSD-only options so if you don’t need the storage offered by a Hybrid solution, go for a faster SSD-only solution. Want a 1600×900 screen? Let’s take a look at the offers.

Sticking out like a golden egg is the ASUS Zenbook Prime UX31A with 128GB SSD and a 1920×1024 screen. It’s being offered for $1079.99 with the $100 gift voucher.  The Sandisk SSD might not be the fastest and you should be aware of a potential issue with screen backlight ‘bleed’ but apart from that, there’s a good feeling about the UX32A out there. [Link to Amazon]

The other interesting option at the $1K level is the Toshiba U845W with the widescreen display. This too has just come online at Amazon and is worth looking at if you want a wider working area for a possible two side-by-side Windows. There’s only a Hybrid HDD in the U845W but after our close hands-on a few weeks ago, it’s high on our list as a well designed Ultrabook.

A full review of the U845W is not available at this stage but Notebookcheck have taken a close look at the German version, the U840W. [Amazon Link] Also worth looking at is the HP Folio 13. It’s a 2011 Ultrabook but it still has one of the best battery life figures of all the Ultrabooks. The keyboard is good, it includes a full SSD, there’s a good port selection and it’s well reviewed and well-rated.

Series 9

 

Pro Ultrabook

You want fast storage, a quality build, security features and the best keyboard possible. Long battery life is a must and it needs to look great.

Our immediate thought is for a Core i7 Samsung Series 9 13.3” but we can only find the Core i5 version with the Gift Card special offer.

The 13.3” Series 9 has a fantastic wide-view screen and oozes style and uniqueness. We’ve tested the 15” version but that doesn’t have the high-end screen of the 13.3” version. It weighs just 2.55lbs [Amazon link] Current price $1299

For the same price you can get a Core i7 / 126GB SSD version of the Sony Vaio T.  We don’t think it’s in the same class as the Series 9 for style and weight but you do get the high-end CPU. [link]

Unfortunately Amazon aren’t listing many of the B2B-style Ultrabooks. There’s no VPro-enabled solutions there that I can see. Where are the big boys with their Core i7-3667U for example? Where’s that Toshiba Portege Z930-S9302 when you need it?

Note Amazon.com does not ship outside the USA.

Let us know what y
ou choose and check back to let us know how you get on with your new Ultrabook.

Here’s a link to all the Ultrabooks available in the promotion right now.

10 Comments For This Post

  1. Visigoth says:

    Is the gift card deal available to people outside the U.S. too?

  2. admin says:

    No. This is a US-Only offer.
    Chippy

  3. Visigoth says:

    That sucks. Non-US customers always seem to get the shaft. :-(

  4. vjachi says:

    Just ordered the Samsung Series 9 15″ :)

  5. Adam says:

    Chippy, your favorite Samsung Series 5 is $200 off at Amazon.com; I’m pretty surprised you missed that one: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006KYY1FU?ie=UTF8&camp=213733&creative=393185&creativeASIN=B006KYY1FU&linkCode=shr&tag=wwwnetbooknew-20&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&qid=1342517282&ref_=sr_1_3&s=pc&sr=1-3

    Adam

  6. Adam says:

    Nevermind; you didn’t miss much it’s an old Ivybridge model…
    For $100 extra the added perf and 13w TDP feature is probably worth it.

    Adam

  7. admin says:

    …an old Sandy Bridge model ;-(

    Yes I saw it….I moved along.

    But thanks for the feedback. Keep it coming. I need people on lookout for special offers.

    Chippy.

  8. Robert says:

    I am so happy with my samsung series 9 13 inch it is absolutely silent i thought i heard a very low absolutely pleasant hum until i realised even that didnt come from the samsung but the WD hard drive i had attached!;-) the keyboard is very good to type on and the screen just blows me away every time ! the sound is strong boot .. time due to ssd is alot of fun:) and its gorgeos too-:) maintnance samsung software to update drivers and bios track pad ect. is also very helpful as well as the different settings for screen and sound.

  9. concordus says:

    Can you check new samsung series 7 laptops?

  10. buy positive amazon book reviews says:

    Write more, thats all I have to say. Literally, it seems as though you relied on
    the video to make your point. You clearly know what youre talking
    about, why throw away your intelligence on just posting videos to your weblog when you could be giving us something informative to read?

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