Category Archives: Best Laptops For College

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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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

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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