Buy MBA for Windows use only?

Starting my studies as a computer engineer this year and need a new laptop as my XPS M1330 died last year.
I'm going for a 14-inch or smaller and I'm quite sure that 768p heightwise will be too low.
That leaves me only a few models to choose between, but it's still a hard choice.

I've tested T420s, X220 and some other Lenovos and MBA earlier today (can't get Sony Vaio SA in Norway yet).
The thing is, I love the 16:10 format, which the MBA have and I think the T420s' batterylife is a bit short.


So, what do you guys think about buying the new MBA for the sole purpose of using Win7? (I might use bootcamp or something to check out OSX though)
I've hear the touchpad wont be as good, any experince on that part and normal Windows use?

 

No! battery life would be terrible. Yes, the touchpad would suck. It would get really hot too.

Slim PC (like samsung series 9) > MBA running Windows 7

 

The battery problem is something MBP have (or had?). Battery life in Win7 is reported to be similar to OSX, 6-7 hours (2010 model).
The touchpad would suck in Windows indeed, compared to OSX. But is the difference that great compared to other laptops?

Do you have any other options to reccomend? I've looked at the Samsung 900x3a, but the screen resolution is only 1366x768 and it's ever more expensive than MBA.

 

It doesn't sound like a good idea at all. Surely you could find a PC notebook that is portable enough.

 

According to this article ( MacBook Air + Windows 7, Part Two: An Imperfect Storm) the battery life is almost as good on Windows 7 as in Mac OSX. It is true that the battery life on the Macbook Pro is terrible, but the Air is another story.

I’m thinking about doing the same thing. I was also thinking about the Samsung Series 9, but there seems to be a lot of problems with to WiFi (see the Samsung forum), so I don’t even want to give it a try.

 

Does Lenovo sell the T420s in Norway? It's thinner and lighter (under 4 lbs) than the T420. It has a 900p screen standard. With a bay battery as well as the six-cell (whatever that is), you can get up to 10 hours battery life.

 

It is available, but with the lowest spec possible it is still $400 more expensive than MBA (only a few webshops selling them, non customable). So I'll probably order from USA. MBA 13" i5 costs $2000 and the T420s $2400 (atleast $200 for bay battery).
But then I wont get 3(or 5 maybe) years warranty included and norwegian keyboard.

As I wrote in my first post, I tested the T420s today. The battery seems to drain pretty fast, and you wont get more than 5-7 hours with the bay battery. Around the MBA time, which is ok I guess.

 

Found a nice thread about this on the Apple forum: https://discussions.apple.com/message/13075398#13075398
A lot of threads about Win7 on MBA there.

It seems to be working quite well, and I think I can buy it here and be able to return it within 30 days if I'm not happy.
Then I'll have the chance to check it out.
Thanks for the replies.

 

Batterly life is fine with W7. I don't usually care for dual booting given that I only have a 128GB drive, but I've done it and it's fine.

The touchpad is okay in W7 too. You don't get a lot of the gestures and whatnot but it is still miles ahead of anything Dell, HP, or others put on their laptops.

 

I think the MBA would be a very nice Win7 machine. The form factor is pretty unique and the touchpad is great (although it's not as good as on OS X).
Is it the best/most efficient purchase? Only you know that, since you're the one making the decision.

Cheers!