High Technology Product Reviews | Trends and News

When I think of high-end mainstream laptops, brands like Apple's MacBook Pro, Dell's XPS, and Asus's U-Series are usually what come to mind. Another rising star in this category is the HP Envy 14-1110NR ($1,050 list), found at Staples. As its name suggests, it's the 14-inch version of HP's Envy line, lavished with features such as a glass-covered screen, a backlit keyboard, and some of the fastest components available. There are some lingering issues with the gesture touchpad, and the system is a little on the heavy side. Otherwise, the Envy 14-1110NR is a viable mainstream laptop for sophisticated users. Design Anodized aluminum is the recurring theme in HP laptops. The Envy 14 is covered in it, whereas laptops like the Asus U45Jc-A1 ($867 street, 4.5 stars) and HP Pavilion dm4-1160us ($849.98 list, 4 stars) only use it on the cover and palm rest area. The design concept is similar to the Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch (Core 2 Duo 2.4Ghz) ($1,199 direct, 4 stars), i...

Asus has the chops to make an outstanding laptop, as it proven with the U30Jc-A1 ($899 street, 4.5 stars)—a 13-inch lightweight that is powerful, sexy, and battery efficient. Its latest offering, the Asus U45Jc-A1 ($867 street), bumps the screen size to a 14-inch widescreen, while retaining all the goodies that made its smaller sibling so successful. A sleek metallic frame, Nvidia switchable graphics, and over 9 hours of battery life are just the tip of the iceberg. Thus, the U30Jc-A1 passes the torch to the U45Jc-A1, making the latter the new Editors' Choice in the mainstream category, and one of the best laptops I've tested. Specifications ------------------ Type General Purpose, Media Operating System Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Processor Speed 2.4 GHz Processor Name Intel Core i3-370M RAM 4 GB Weight 4.7 lb Screen Size 14 inches Screen Size Type widescreen Graphics Card Intel GMA HD 2nd Graphics Card nVidia GeForce 310M Storage Capacity (as Tes...

A 2.2GHz processor and 500GB hard drive, for a rock bottom price? Seems like good bait material, coming from a laptop like the Dell Inspiron iM501R-1655MRB ($649.99 list, at Best Buy). By itself, it's a competent, budget laptop that can handle several tasks at once without crashing to a halt. Compared with other similarly priced laptops, though, the M501R is no Easter egg. You'll find nicer parts and better prices with the Acer Aspire AS5745-7247 ($600 list, 4.5 stars) or Sony VAIO VPC-EB33FM/BJ ($629.99 list, 4.5 stars). Design Plastic is used more frequently than any other material in laptop designs, almost all the time if it's inexpensive. How the plastic is decorated separates the attractive from the, well, not so attractive ones. Upon closer inspection, the iM501R-1655MRB's shiny plastic chassis is painted to look like brushed aluminum—a great-looking design, but susceptible to some smudging. The design looks like it took more brainstorming than drawing a few l...

Shedding weight is a common practice in business laptops, but it's also important that they shed the right kind of weight. The Lenovo ThinkPad T410s ($1,504 direct) is the undisputed leader, and best laptop, in terms of designing the lightest 14-inch laptop with an optical drive. While other business laptops shed screen size, performance, and features to hit a target weight, the T410s does so with minimal drawbacks. The biggest letdown is that the 6-cell battery delivered less than 4 hours of battery life, and larger batteries, which are offered by the ThinkPad T410, aren't part of the equation. Specifications Type Ultraportable, Business, Small Business Operating System Microsoft Windows 7 Professional Processor Speed 2.4 GHz Processor Name Intel Core i5-520M RAM 4 GB Weight 3.9 lb Screen Size 14.1 inches Screen Size Type widescreen Graphics Card Intel GMA HD Storage Capacity (as Tested) 250 GB Networking Options 802.11n Primary Optical Drive Dual-Lay...