Matt Smith - Laptop Reviews
Smartphone, shmartphone; the sign of a truly productive human being remains the laptop computer. Why else would people continue displaying them all day long at coffee shops? And buying one isn't like a phone purchase -- you only need to worry about that thing for a two-year contract. A laptop is forever. Or, at least three or four years. Our testing process is as much about a user's everyday experience with the laptop as it is about lab-based benchmarking, because ultimately a laptop is a lot like your car: You don't need to know how every piece of the engine works, but you do need to know if it's designed for what you need, if it's worth the price tag, and that it won't end up in a smoking heap on the side of your desk. From budget notebooks to Ultrabooks and everything in between, we've used it, reviewed out, and have an opinion about it.
For more tips check out our laptop buying guide, or head over to our continually updated list of the best laptops to find out which ones scored the highest marks.
Apple MacBook Pro 17-inch (2011) Review
- Ultra-solid unibody construction
- Gorgeous high-resolution display
- Glossy screen catches glare…
Toshiba Portege R705 Review
- Thin and light
- Sturdy, stylish magnesium chassis
- Lacks biz staples like keyboard…
Apple MacBook Air (11.6-inch) Review
- Class-leading boot and resume times
- Full-size keyboard, enormous trackpad
- Shallow, mushy keyboard
HP EliteBook 2540p Review
- Powerful selection of Core i5 and i7…
- Top-notch build quality
- Well short of rated battery life
Lenovo IdeaPad V460 Review
- Superb, ThinkPad-grade keyboard
- Sleek aluminum design, lightweight
- Short battery life
Sony Vaio Y Series Review
- Fashionable, high-end look
- Shorter battery life than competitors
- Feels cheap around display bezel, lid
HP Mini 210 HD Edition Review
- Large, high-resolution screen
- Atrocious touchpad
- Preinstalled trialware and junk
Asus U30Jc-A1 Review
- Powerful Core i3 CPU and dedicated…
- Sleek aluminum-wrapped design
- Chunkier than a true thin-and-light
Toshiba Satellite U505-S2010 Review
- Powerful Intel Core i5 CPU
- Very poor, dim screen (on touch…
- Touch screen lacks utility
Asus G51J 3D Review
- Out-of-the-box stereoscopic…
- Includes 3D Vision glasses backpack…
- Thick and heavy
Lenovo IdeaPad U150 Review
- Thin and lightweight
- Bright, high-res 11.6-inch LCD
- Body feels slightly cheapish
Lenovo IdeaPad U550 Review
- Respectable battery life on Intel…
- Reasonably portable form factor…
- Loaded to the gills with bloatware
Sony Vaio X Series Review
- Truly unprecedented size and weight
- Sharp, high-resolution, LED-backlit…
- Extreme price premium for netbook…
Lenovo ThinkPad Edge Review
- Large, responsive touchpad
- Our favorite Chiclet-style keyboard
- Expensive relative to specs
HP Mini 5101 Review
- Durable and attractive matte black…
- Sturdy magnesium chassis
- Clammy fingers stick on glossy…
Sony Vaio CW Series Review
- Reasonably priced
- Supremely comfortable palm rest…
- Not particularly light or slim
Apple MacBook 2009 Review
- Attractive and sturdy unibody design
- Enormous multi-touch trackpad
- No swappable battery
Matt Smith - Laptop Reviews
Smartphone, shmartphone; the sign of a truly productive human being remains the laptop computer. Why else would people continue displaying them all day long at coffee shops? And buying one isn't like a phone purchase -- you only need to worry about that thing for a two-year contract. A laptop is forever. Or, at least three or four years. Our testing process is as much about a user's everyday experience with the laptop as it is about lab-based benchmarking, because ultimately a laptop is a lot like your car: You don't need to know how every piece of the engine works, but you do need to know if it's designed for what you need, if it's worth the price tag, and that it won't end up in a smoking heap on the side of your desk. From budget notebooks to Ultrabooks and everything in between, we've used it, reviewed out, and have an opinion about it.
For more tips check out our laptop buying guide, or head over to our continually updated list of the best laptops to find out which ones scored the highest marks.
Newest Products
How we test laptops
You've read our laptop reviews. You've read our conclusions. And now you're wondering how we came to them.
Allow us to peel back the veil from our review process. While every laptop is different, the hurdles we ask each product to jump are similar. This allows us to provide realistic and accurate information and tell you about the positive and negative traits of the laptops we write about. Read More
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