Ask Engadget: Best 13-inch laptop on the market?

We know you've got questions, and if you're brave enough to ask the world for answers, here's the outlet to do so. This week's Ask Engadget question is coming to us from Moe, who is dead-set on snagging a 13-inch machine just as soon as a model is decided upon. Help a brother out, won't you?

"I'm in the market for a new laptop, and I want a 13-incher. I need something with a great keyboard for typing, as this will mostly be used for note taking in class. I am absolutely smitten with the XPS 13, but I'm afraid that with its age Dell is going to give it an update soon. Any advice for someone in my shoes? Thanks!"

There's no doubt that an update is around the corner, but there's no telling how far that corner is from being reached. USB 3.0 updates are unavoidable, and we wouldn't be surprised to see a few new SSD options creep up, either. That said, there's nothing quite like the here and now, so if any of you ultraportable owners wish to help out, you know where to head.

[Baseball Mike Posted Dec 27th 2009 12:31AM]

I vote for the HP EliteBook 2530p -- ok, its a 12" -- but why is 13" the magic number. The EliteBook is rock solid, fast, awesome support, and has every built in feature I could want. Plus, it fits in the tiniest carry-on you've ever seen. Check it out.

[tech head Posted Dec 27th 2009 1:20AM]

easy, macbook pro 13 inch. If you can wait a couple of months that is great because you can get the probably upgraded model but if you need it for school and you need it now, you are stil getting a great computer. The backlit keyboard is perfect for typing in dark classrooms during like a ppt or something.

[fic83146 Posted Dec 27th 2009 11:13AM]

Acer Timeline series, specifically Aspire 3810TZ with 4GB & 64-bit. All day battery and portability.

[DSpirito Posted Dec 30th 2009 12:08PM]

Dell XPS m1330 until the video died a little over two years later, they repaired it free though and
were very good! Been running hackintosh flawlessly for about a year now!

[calagan Posted Jan 1st 2010 3:51AM]

Yet another vote for Sony CW serie (although it's 14"). I like the choice of colors available (got an Indigo), the instant-on web browser and the kick-ass Nvidia GT230M graphic card.

I found a merchant on EBay who is selling customized Sony CW with aftermarket parts: he can boost your configuration up to a T9900 3GHz CPU (got myself a T9800 which was an excellent value) and also offer several hard disk choices incuding SSD

[Manoj Posted Jan 3rd 2010 1:41PM]

I recently got ASUS UL80vt....quick snapshot
- very solid performance - 1.3 ghz processor overclockable to1.7 ghz
- very long battery life - up to 11 hours
- two graphic cards which I can switch at the press of a button depending upon whether I want performance (nvidia) or longer battery (intel)
- 4 gb memory
- 320 gbs hd
- internal optical drive (very rare with such light weight laptops)
- very fast boot time (ASUS says they have optimized windows 7 to reduce the boot time). It has been under 30 second for me so far to get from hitting the power button to seeing the login screen
- very nice exterior finish
- overall full marks, however the cam could have carried more megapixels...

[Manoj Posted Jan 3rd 2010 1:43PM]

However one point I forgot to mention was that ASUS ul80vt is 14 inches...so go for ul30vt if you are looking for 13 inches...pretty similar in config

[Ashkaan Posted Jan 29th 2010 2:55AM]

MacBook Air.. simply the best for the price.

[sxestudios Posted Feb 12th 2010 9:31PM]

Macbook Pro

[CaptainJack87 Posted Feb 13th 2010 3:41AM]

Macbook Pro - not 13"
I know the one I am going to mention is not 13", but at 11.6" and 1GB of Dedicated Graphics memory it will be the best portable gaming notebook created to this date...
Alienware m11x can be had for $799 (899 with memory and hdd upgrade) cannot be beat
And screen resolution dwarfs that of all other small machines.
Just read the review at hardwareheaven

[fractalbit Posted Feb 13th 2010 5:05PM]

Why not a Sony SR series? I don't own one but they have good specs, good construction and not as pricey as the awesome Z series.

[John52 Posted Feb 15th 2010 9:47PM]

Best laptop out there hands down. http://store.apple.com/us/configure/MB990LL/A?mco=MTM3NDczMDY

[kthorstrejka Posted Mar 20th 2010 10:55PM]

as a matter of fact, they're upgrading the XPS 13 right now. so just hold on for a bit and you can get one. otherwise, I think that the sony vaio z-series, the asus U-series would be viable options. i personally use a 2.53 ghz MacBook Pro.