Laptop Brand Comparison

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Ideally you’ll read our breakdown of good laptop brands first before you start looking for a comparison .

Presumably you’ve come upon this site as you are trying to determine the best brand of laptop manufacturer before narrowing down to a make and model.  The difficulty in that is that often the level of quality and reliability varies significantly from model to model and even from year to year, and on top of that laptops in general have an inherently high failure rate compared to most consumer electronics.  The reason for that is that most electronics are not crammed full of hot (and sometimes spinning) components that are carried and bounced around, sometimes dropped, and sometimes spilled on.

In general though i have provided a list of what you can expect from some of the worlds largest laptop manufacturers.  Without further ado:

Laptop Brand Comparison:

  • HP – Quite honestly, despite their size, HP is probably the worst of the worst in terms of overall laptop quality.  On top of getting a generally shoddy product, HP’s also come absolutely loaded with 3rd party bloatware as they get paid a few extra dollars to install another companies crapware.  Lastly, when your new laptop inevitably fails, HP’s customer service is outsourced and absolutely terrible.

Bottom Line – Worst of the worst.  Generally crappy products with over a quarter of HP laptops needing repairs within 3 years.  

  • Asus - Asus is actually a higher end PC laptop manufacturer in this writers opinion , and in terms of overall quality of materials  is probably one of the best buys for those in the market for a windows machine.  Despite being mass market, far more money is put into styling, testing, and materials.
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Envy Spectre 14 Review

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HP ENVY Spectre 14 Review:

If you’re looking for a unique design, it’s definitely worth a look. Most other ultrabooks on the market feel like clones of the MacBook Air, the Spectre lives up to its name: It’s like a slim, shadow of an Envy 15, without all the Apple references. From the raised, Gorilla Glass-covered aluminum palm rest which seems to float on air to the perfectly flat, glossy black lid, all the main design points look spectacular and feel fantastic. There are plenty of similar elements too, like the Beats Audio volume dial, keyboard, power button and removable rear cover. Each was introduced on an earlier Envy, and they all add up to a design that feels uniquely HP.

None of that’s to say that the build is perfect.  The chassis isn’t quite as solid as the best ultrabooks we have reviewed. The thin aluminum and magnesium alloy construction visibly flexes when twisted, and the keyboard tray has a slight amount of give. None of this will bug you unless you let it, but a little additional attention to detail could have served HP well here. Chalk it up to a 14-inch screen, but the Spectre is also a bit thicker and heavier than the other ultrabooks we’ve tested.

There’s a MiniDisplay Port, full-size HDMI 1.4 and Gigabit Ethernet jacks, USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 sockets and a 3.5mm headset jack, plus a full-size SD card slot.

SCREEN:

The 14-inch, 1600 x 900 Radiance Display that comes standard in the Envy 14 Spectre definitely is a sight to behold. It’s wonderfully crisp, clear, gets nice and bright without washing out, and has fairly decent viewing angles too.

Colors do shift if you tilt it forward or back, but typically from angles you’d never use, and you can comfortably share a movie with a second person without feeling like you’re losing loads of detail. Unlike the unfortunate 1080p display on the Envy 15, this screen accurately represents colors.

Also don’t assume that the Gorilla Glass cover makes the display okay to abuse: while it’ll definitely protect from accidental dings and scratches there’s no air gap between the glass and the actual LCD panel. You can see the liquid crystal matrix ripple if you press too hard.

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Asus Zenbook Review

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Asus Zenbook UX21E-DH52 Review

As specs are paramount in purchasing any good laptop, the Asus Zenbook UX21E-DH52 has an 11.6-inch screen, an Intel Core i5 processor, and 4GB of RAM, and 128GB solid-state drive. Most 13.3-inch ultrabooks are invariably compared in the same breath as the MacBook Air 11-inch (Thunderbolt). Besides similar price and processor, the UX21E-DH52 and 11-inch MacBook Air share the same aluminum unibody construction, screen size, and resolution (1,366 by 768 pixels). The former has a USB 3.0 port, the latter a Thunderbolt port. But the MacBook Air 11-inch edges the UX21E-DH52 with a backlit keyboard, but on the flip side has only half the memory and storage (2GB of RAM and a 64GB SSD). So if you are looking for a comparable package that runs windows, this is a great option for you.

Design
It’s machined from one piece of aluminum, with a brushed pattern on the bottom and palm rest. It has monochromatic versions of the Intel and Windows stickers beneath the keyboard which help make the UX21E-DH52 look starkly sheik as the MacBook Air. It’s also incredibly solid: Grasp the display’s top corners, and you’ll move the whole system rather than flexing the screen.

Icons and text on the 11.6-inch screen are on the small side, but sharp enough to be quite legible. The screen is very glossy and exceptionally bright and the colors are vivid.

The touchpad works smoothly and its lower corners work as left and right mouse buttons that click silently and need little force to operate.

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Acer Brand

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Acer is one of the most popular laptop brands available for purchase today. They’ve been around for many years and offer a multitude of different styles performance model and price categories. What many people may not know that Acer also owns Gateway, Packard and E machines so when buying one of those brands you are technically also getting an Acer product. Acer is the fourth largest computer manufacturer in the world and the second largest notebook manufacturer in the world that means when buying one of their products you are getting a wealth of experience and mass-market pricing.

The major question most new laptop purchasers looking at Acer products will have is, “is

Acer emphasizes performance and pricing over quality and style

Acer a good laptop brand name?” There is no definitive answer to that question, depending on what you are looking for, however Acer does have second highest failure rate over three years with only HP sporting a higher potential for failure.  Overall, 23.3% or nearly a quarter of Acer laptops will fail prior to the three-year mark.  That sounds high, but is actually relatively normal within the laptop industry.  For example Apple which is renowned for its build quality has a failure rate of 17.4% over three years, less than 6% over 3 years.  One major consideration with Acer is its significantly lower price than most competitors.  For a small higher risk of failure you are generally getting a large price reduction. Due to this, it is known as budget brand that offers high performance for a relatively cheap price.

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Sony Vaio S Review

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There’s a lot to like about the Sony Vaio S.  It’s well-designed, compact and lightweight with an excellent keyboard.  It’s also loaded with cool, unique features.  As with many Sony products, the price point is a little higher than much of the competition, but the quality is certainly there.  The main shortcoming is that the battery life is a little on the short side, but this can be fixed with an optional sheet battery that provides double the operating time of the standard battery.

Some of the features of the Vaio SA 41FX/BL include a dedicated AMDRadeon HD 6630M video card, an Intel Core i5 processor, a 1,600 x 900 pixel screen, a fingerprint reader, an HD webcam, optional solid-state drive storage, an optional Blu-ray drive and mobile broadband.

The Vaio SA’s all-aluminium case has an aesthetically-pleasing profile, but it’s not as sleek as the ultrabook laptops on the market.  It falls somewhere in between an ultrabook and a regular laptop in terms of size.  There are a variety of options for colors (jet black, carbon fiber black, or platinum silver) and specs (such as the option to upgrade to an Intel Core i7 processor).  People looking for a cheaper alternative should consider the Vaio SB line, which offers slightly scaled back specs.  One nice feature about the Vaio SA is that its lid opens up wider than many other laptops on the market, which can improve visibility in certain situations.

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Apple MacBook Pro Review

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From the fall 2011 release, the Apple Macbook Pro makes our list as one of the most expensive, mass produced, and ultra “popular” laptops one can buy today.  Despite many arguments regarding its cost to components, little can argue with the quality and style it offers.

As many people know, Apple is a good laptop brand and the latest version of its MacBook Pro is one of the best laptops the brand has to offer.  The MacBook Pro comes in three different screen sizes: 13-inch, 15-inch and 17-inch.  Even the smallest size delivers big performance, and of course every model has the sleek aesthetics people expect from a good laptop brand like Apple.  All three versions of the MacBook Pro are less than an inch thick and even the largest version weighs only a few pounds.

Aside from the three screen sizes, there are a number of options available when purchasing a MacBook Pro.  The 15-inch and 17-inch models are powered by the Intel Core i7 processor while the Intel Core i5 processor powers the 13-inch version.  Although the larger versions are faster due to their more powerful processors, the smaller one is no slouch.  All three versions come equipped out of the box with 4 GB of memory but can hold up to 8 GB, leaving owners room to upgrade.  The 13-inch and 15-inch models come with either a 500 GB hard drive or a 750 GB hard drive.  All of the 17-inch computers carry the 750 GB hard drive.

Available ports include two USB 2.0 ports, a FireWire 800 port, a Thunderbolt port, an Ethernet port and a headphone jack.  Power is provided via a MagSafe power port.  This is a nice feature because the power cable easily separates from the computer if pulled instead of dragging the unit along for the ride.

All three of the different screens look great, with sharp resolution and great colors.  The built-in HD video camera and microphone are great for making video calls through Apple’s FaceTime software.

The battery life of the MacBook Pro is excellent, lasting up to seven hours on a single charge depending on the use of the laptop.

Finally, Apple’s impressive OS X Lion makes operating any of the MacBook Pro models a real pleasure.  The slick multi-touch trackpad and the backlit keyboard give the MacBook Pro one of the best user interfaces of any laptop on the market.

Overall any one of the MacBook Pro models is a great choice for anyone who wants a great-looking, easy to use laptop with lots of power.

You can find all the Macbook models at Amazon, who usually offers some sale pricing and free shipping here: Apple MacBook Pro 13.3-Inch Laptop (NEWEST VERSION)

If interested in a cheaper ultraportable PC, the Asus Zenbook is a fantastic new PC that offers a similar performance with a cheaper pricetag.  You can find more information in our Asus Zenbook review.

Summary:

Pros:

  • Amazing Build Quality
  • Slick user experience
  • Backlit keyboard
  • Amazing battery Life

Cons:

  • Price
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Amazon Fire Review

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Another laptop like device has recently come out that has sold extremely well, in the millions, especially over christmas.  This little 7 inch tablet computer is the Amazon Kindle Fire, a compact color tablet that breaks through the $200 price point for tablet computers without sacrificing name, performance or quality.

Without further ado, here are the specs you get for a mere $199.00:

  • 7 inch screen with IPS technology for fantastic viewing angles, and delivering 16 million colors
  • Dual core 1 GHZ Texas Instruments OMAP processor
  • Full access to Amazon movies, books, and cloud storage
  • Full web browser and flash, through Amazons proprietary “silk” browser

The Amazon Fire is a fantastic device to hold in your hands, as it is lightweight, but thick enough to comfortably keep in one hand for long periods.  Its smaller 7 inch screen compared to most 10 inch tablets means its much easier for it to be toted along and slid into a purse or bag.  Also again, its smaller form means using it one handed is easy and natural.

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Laptops Under $200

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This is a very small segment of the overall laptop market, however it seems to be growing.  Manufacturers are quickly realizing that a lot of people need just a simple machine to check email, edit and create documents, and surf the web on, that doesn’t require the absolute best hardware.  It is a highly sought after consumer segment, and that means that you the consumer will be the one to benefit. However there are still few choices for consumers to pick from, so it can be difficult to find a laptop under 200 that fits for you. This article is going to focus on a few of our favorite picks, and will be updated regularly with full reviews, and as new devices roll out that meet the criteria.

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Most Expensive Laptop

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A lot of people (especially those with money to burn) are looking for the most expensive laptop money can buy (within reason).  A lot of places will show off some crappy diamond encrusted ridiculously expensive laptop with poor specs, but what i’ll strive to do here is show you some of the highest end, in both style and/or performance that money can buy.  When looking at the most expensive laptop, one should expect top of the line hardware, reliability, and ideally one great looking machine.

Sometimes however when looking at the most expensive laptop, you are also looking at an extreme.  For example, a shockproof, waterpoof, can be run over by a semi proof laptop, can cost a ridiculous amount, just for the amount of durability that has been built into the product.    Right now we will look at just a few of the highest cost

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Best Laptops for College

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Any student bound for college nowadays needs a laptop, almost every university now has course and study materials online and specific software you need to use in various courses.  Research for papers is done online, and essays are written on computers.  Laptops are pretty much mandatory for all college students to get the best education possible.

However the right laptop needs to be chosen.  You have to expect this laptop to be durable enough last at least 4 years (the average undergraduate degree), have performance specs that won’t get bogged down (again over 4 years), light enough to be comfortably carried to class in a bag, while also having a battery life long enough to make it through even the

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