News about PC & Mac/Laptops & portable PCs/Laptops and netbooks:
Review: Samsung RF510
Samsung has impressed us over the past year, releasing a string of high-quality, yet affordable, consumer laptops. New to the range is the RF510, a powerful, usable and well-specified media centre that’s easy to recommend.
Built using a combination of glossy black plastic, silver faux-metallic flourishes and brushed gunmetal, the chassis has just as much style as the Acer Aspire 5943G. The panels feel firmly fixed and resilient to wear and tear, although the glossy lid is slightly prone to scratches.
Review: Toshiba Tecra A11
Toshiba’s Tecra A11-11H is quite an expensive laptop, so we were expecting great things. We certainly weren’t left disappointed, with plenty of highlights to speak of, although this isn’t quite a perfect machine.
The Intel Core i5 520M processor provided an excellent benchmarking score, so anyone demanding plenty of power need look no further. Multitaskers can browse the web, enjoy their music and movies, and run intensive applications all at the same time, with no noticeable slowdown in evidence.
Review: Fujitsu Lifebook S710
While Fujitsu’s laptop range has been geared towards the consumer market of late, the Lifebook S710 is aimed more at the business user. However, while performance excels, the poor build quality lets it down.
Built around a plastic chassis, the S710 lacks the style of some other laptops. The combination of black and silver plastics provides a functional design, but it looks outdated.
Review: Samsung R440
After putting out a steady stream of excellent and affordable laptops last year, Samsung deservedly won our prestigious Best Laptop Manufacturer award. The R440-JA01UK offers good value for money, with strong performance and an excellent screen.
Review: HP G72
As well as being highly prolific, HP rarely disappoints with its laptops and deserves its reputation as one of the top computer manufacturers. The G72-a10SA is an affordable laptop, yet still has some surprising features and a great screen.
Review: Apple MacBook (2011)
Review: Hi-Grade Notino D8000i
The Hi-Grade Notino D8000i is aimed at the average consumer who needs a laptop for home and office use, although its limited battery life makes it much better suited to a life at home.
Like most Hi-Grade laptops, a generic plastic chassis has been used. The appearance is cheap in comparison to other laptops such as the Asus P52F, Samsung R440 and Dell Vostro V130, and the silver body flexes under pressure. However, the lid is firm enough to ably protect the 15.6-inch screen.
Review: Dell Vostro V130
Dell’s Vostro V130 is a compact ultraportable laptop aimed at small businesses, although there’s plenty here for everyday consumers to enjoy. Only a couple of flaws prevent it from being an excellent travel companion.
Immediately impressive is the slender chassis, which measures just 20mm at its thickest point. This is one of the most compact laptops we’ve seen of late and is perfectly sized for slipping into bags. Furthermore, the 1.6kg weight makes it a light laptop and perfect for taking out on the road.
Review: Asus P52F
Taiwanese company Asus is best known for its revolutionary Eee PC netbooks, but also produces full-sized laptops. The P52F-SO006X is a smart business model that’s solidly built, with strong Intel Core performance.
Our first reaction was highly positive, as the all-black chassis looks and feels reassuringly solid. The lid barely flexes at all, protecting the display within, while the shock protected hard drive helps to prevent damage to your data by resetting the read/write head if vibrations are detected.
Review: MSI CR620
MSI (or Micro-Star International) is a Taiwanese company that’s best known for manufacturing components, but it also builds a range of laptops. The CR620-643UK is from its Classic range and provides both great performance and value for money.
Review: Lenovo G560
Lenovo has hit the mark once again with its excellent G560. Boasting impressive usability and performance, this is one of the best laptops we’ve seen at this price point, and its few small quirks don’t detract from an excellent overall user experience.
Review: Dell Inspiron M5030
While there’s nothing specifically wrong with Dell’s Inspiron M5030, when compared to the excellent laptops from Lenovo and MSI at this price point it is hard to recommend. Nevertheless, the impressive battery life may be enough to convince those for whom portability is a requirement.
Review: Acer Aspire 5336
From tiny netbooks to high-performance multimedia centres, Acer manufacturers a broad range of impressive laptops to suit every budget. The Aspire 5336-T353G32Mnkk comes in at the more affordable end of the spectrum and its low price means it’s also a distinctly average performer.
Review: Packard Bell EasyNote TS
It would be fair to say that we were a tad skeptical when we got our first look at the Packard Bell EasyNote TS. It’s ostensibly a pretty laptop without much obviously going for it bar its shiny lid, so we were a little bit dismissive – that’s the sort of stock response we reserve for anything in the sub-£500 bracket.
