Lenovo U410 14" Ultrabook, 3rd gen i5, 8GB memory, 750GB HD + 24GB (possibly 32GB) SSD HD, for $700+tax at Costco.com starting Nov 19. Online only.
 

I just got the ad for online-only sales/deals from Costco. Deals start November 19, which is the week of Black Friday. They have a Lenovo U410 14" Ultrabook for $699.99 (+tax) with free Kaspersky (single user download) [costco.com]. It runs on Windows 7. Relevant stats make it potentially better than the Fry's deal (@ $100 cheaper):

Deal can be found at: http://www.costco.com/Lenovo%C2%A...reId=10301


Processor & Memory:
3rd generation Intel® Core™ i5-3317U processor 1.7GHz
3MB L3 cache
8GB DDR3 – 1600Mhz memory

Drives:
750GB (5400 RPM) SATA Hard Drive + 32GB SSD cache (NOTE: The ad says 24GB SSD, but I tend to think the 32GB number is right.)

Operating System:
Microsoft® Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)

Graphics & Video:
14” HD LED backlit (1366x768) display
16:9 widescreen Aspect Ratio
NVIDIA® GeForce® 610M 1GB graphics

Communications:
802.11 b/g/n WiFi
10/100M Ethernet
Intel® Wireless Display Support
Integrated 1.0M (720p HD) webcam

Audio:
Integrated stereo speakers 2x2W with Dolby® Home Theater V4 audio enhancement

Keyboard:
AccuType Keyboard
Intelligent Touchpad

Ports:
2x USB 2.0 Ports
2x USB 3.0 Ports
1x HDMI
1x RJ-45 (LAN)
2in1 (SD,MMC) card reader
1x Headphone/Microphone combo jack

Additional Software:
OneKey® Rescue System
Lenovo® Energy Management
Veriface™ Face Recognition

Power Supply:
Up to 8hrs productive usage

Additional Information:
Dimensions: 13.5” L x 9.25” W x 0.8” H
Weight (Approximately): 4.19 lbs.
Graphite Grey

Not bad.. just wish they'd up their game to high resolution displays. 1366x768 is just pathetic in 2012.

How does this better deal than frys, I see $600 in price

Totally.

These are decent alternatives: http://www.slickdeals.net/f/54963...el-Core-i5

True that. I don't game, but I do graphic design work, and a better screen resolution is a good thing for that, too.

Check the stats. Bigger RAM, bigger drives...

Yeah, but Dell...*shudder* Not as reliable a brand. I've taken Dell off the table for my business purchases. (I'm the CEO. I get to do that.) :bounce:

CEO's make absolutely terrible IT decisions. Even CIOs make horrible decisions. What is it about management that makes you lose your ability to make sound decisions. Money, power, pride - it's rhetorical.

BTW, if you're the kind of CEO that purchases Inspirons, you need help. You need help anyway because you think Lenovo crap is better than Dell crap. Ask any objective guys in the trenches who deal with hundreds or thousands of these units yearly and you'll realize it's all low bidder junk. It's just about finding the turd that stinks the least.

Gosh! Bitter much? :shake: Does it sound like I'm the "kind of CEO that purchase Inspirons"? Read the bit you quoted, and you'll see I'm not.

Sheesh!

Yes, I am bitter, because I have a job dealing with administrative morons. If it weren't for job security I'd be long gone. You did not indicate which models you purchase, but regardless, they're all junk really. A model or two may pop up now and then, but it's unusual.

That said, I haven't seen the U400 series and I'd like to get my hands on one. Does Costco have these on display in store (even though the deal is online only)? Does anyone have these on display?

I just called, they don't have any display models in store. My BestBuy location has one so I'll be checking it out later today.

Thanks for the heads up. I've checked a couple best buys this week but their selection is garbage. Even the ultrabook display is only half-filled. Plenty of huge, heavy models though.

The "alternatives" you mentioned have worse specs and cost more

Same price at Amazon. Point: the Frys deal has a smaller HD and 2GB less ram. If that's worth $100 then this is your deal.