hi all sifus,
car got broken into and lost my laptop (yes I know how foolish that was, but it was a high traffic brightly lit area and I thought I was going off for a short while nia, lesson learned, do not leave things visible even for 1 min in your car here)

have to buy a laptop ASAP (today/tomorrow) as I use it for everything: work, home, personal etc.

was using a MBA 13" (2012) and loved the built and design, considering getting it again since it's updated with Intel 4th gen Haswell processor and has got phenomenal battery life, however turned off by the relatively low resolution considering a lot of new laptops come with full HD. I'm platform agnostic since I install Windows anyway.

been reading extensively online about laptops, if I were to get a PC ultrabook that's touchscreen, I'd prefer it to come with digitizer stylus, otherwise I don't see much use of the touchscreen myself. but there's not a single one that seems to meet all high specs, especially since Malaysia doesn't have the latest laptops.

currently considering Acer Aspire S7-392 (recommended as the best PC Ultrabook by the wirecutter) but it is not in Malaysia yet (at least I don't see it on the Acer Malaysia website, only the previous gen one which is 391), and it doesn't come with stylus,
or the Sony Vaio Duo 13 which has everything that I look for: Full HD, stylus, great battery life (quoted 11hrs, real world 9hrs+), BUT only 128GB SSD (I want at least 256GB) and the slider form factor is a concern as the angle seems too low!
or Dell XPS 12 but only last gen available here so battery life ain't great and no stylus (as far as I can tell),
or Lenovo Ideapad Yoga 13 but its screen is only 1600x900 (though some say it's great) and no stylus.

bad thing about all above is reviews say all their touchpads ain't great, which seems to be a problem afflicting all Windows laptop, sigh why can't they be as good as Apple.

so below are what I'm looking for:
ultrabook / thin and light, mobility is important as I carry it around with me a lot. weight should be around the same as MBA 13".
screen size: 13" which seems the ideal balance between mobility and screen estate.
screen resolution: Full HD, 1920x1080 (can't stomach a laptop reso much lower than the iPhone)
prefer to have digitizer stylus
storage: at least 256GB SSD
brand: indifferent
budget: RM4k-RM6k
battery life: at least 5hrs in real world usage, obviously higher better


any sifu knows any laptop selling in Malaysia that meets most of the above? wonder if I missed out any laptop when researching.

the thing is if I don't need touchscreen I'll probably just go with MBA or Retina MBP, best reviews among all laptops, but I do find touchscreen with stylus has its use, for writing and drawing.

ya I know, as of now in Malaysia Sony Vaio Duo 13 is the only Full HD laptop with stylus I think, the others aren't available yet, that's why was seriously considering it.

went to Low Yat just now, Sony was promoting it in the concourse, played with it, decided against it due to 2 deal breakers: 1st is it only comes in 128GB, 2nd is I think the form factor is unwieldy, the sliding mechanism feels a bit flimsy.

checked out the other ultrabooks, none of them seems to feel really good, also 4th gen Intel processor will be coming soon so most of them will be updated soon, including Acer Aspire S7, Lenovo Ideapad Yoga 13, Dell XPS 12 and Asus Zenbook (which wasn't on display ). all of them don't have a very good trackpad (maybe a Windows problem), Sony Vaio Pro 13 has a pretty good display though.

at the end of it I think I'll just forgo touchscreen and go with a MacBook, it still feels to me the most well built and the one that gets the basics performing well (definitely the best trackpad), and man the retina display just looks stunning, comparing the display to MBA's makes me do not want to get an MBA.

think I'll prolly borrow someone's laptop to use and wait for the retina MBP to be updated and then get it.

hmm i don't think any of the 4th gen intel ultrabook 13-inch is in malaysia yet right, apple has macbook air haswell for 4 months liao, even their macbook pro is updated with haswell and is available here right now, why the other brands so slow one.

looking to get either the new macbook pro or wait for other ultrabooks...

btw i think thewirecutter.com is a pretty good website to simplify and cut down the clutter on laptop recommendations.

Sony Vaio Pro 13 doesn't come with a stylus, and it's Windows 8 Pro

thanks for the info, the Sony one sure is light as hell and sexy