Mark Prigg looks at the latest batch of laptops designed to get you through your working day

The humble everyday laptop has come on in leaps and bounds in recent years. And with performance rivalling the desktop machines of only a year ago, and battery life improving with each new processor chip launched, this is a hugely competitive market. For less than £500 it’s now possible to get a really good model, and for a little more money something approaching desktop performance.

Choosing is tough, with a lot of machines featuring very similar specs. However, bear in mind that it doesn’t always pay to go for a higher spec – an everyday machine for email, web browsing and spreadsheets doesn’t need too much horsepower. But if you’re going to be editing video or perhaps playing the odd game, it’s best to spend the extra for a decent performer.

 

Apple Macbook

£849 | apple.com/uk

The Macbook is Apple’s cheapest laptop and has become something of an icon with its white glossy shell. While the rest of the range has moved to aluminium, its polycarbonate has stayed. It’s also recently been given a much-needed faster processor and graphics card by Apple, which puts it on a par with the PCs here.
As the computer uses the Mac OS X operating system, it’s worth checking with your IT department before buying, although most will support Macs without too many problems. The machine is simple to use and the ten-hour battery life is impressive. The 13.3-inch screen is sharp with deep blacks and rich colours.

However, Apple’s style does come at a price, and the Macbook is far more expensive than a comparable machine. In terms of speed, it is also a little underpowered compared with the latest PC competitors. The extra horsepower is unlikely to make a great deal of difference unless you’re doing a lot of video editing or using huge spreadsheets. Still, it’s a good, solid all-round machine that will perform admirably.

PROS Easy to use, stylish

CONS Relatively expensive

 

HP Pavilion, G62-105SA

From £449 | hp.co.uk

HP’s Pavilion is a well-built machine that also packs a reasonable punch. It’s simple to set up and use, and has a large keyboard that’s a pleasure to type on. It’s also a very stylish laptop, with an Apple-esque metal body that resembles a Macbook Pro.
The 15.6-inch screen is bright and performs well, especially for video playback, where colours are well defined, and the processor is fast enough for pretty much any everyday task. Although the computer’s screen size means it’s not the lightest here, at 2.5kg, it’s certainly one of the best looking. Well worth a look.

PROS Great design

CONS Heavy

 

Lenovo G550

£429 | lenovo.com

Lenovo has had huge success in the laptop market since buying the rights to the Thinkpad range, and this new model aims to take them into the budget market for everyday business laptops. However, it’s got none of the style of the Thinkpads, and looks positively chubby compared with other machines.
Build quality is adequate but the keyboard feels a little flimsy at times. The 15.6-inch screen is reasonably impressive, although it can sometimes look washed out, and there’s no HDMI port for connecting to a TV.

Despite these flaws, the 2.5kg G550 performs well and is quite fast, especially considering its bargain price. But overall it doesn’t quite match up to some of the competition, with poor build quality and a slightly cheap feel letting it down.

PROS Good price

CONS Poor build quality

 

Packard Bell EasyNote, TM86-GN-006UK

£599 | packardbell.co.uk

It’s one of the more expensive machines here, but the extra cash really shows in the Easynote, which is a high-powered all-rounder capable of pretty much anything. It has a superb screen and an HDMI port to connect it up to a TV. Colours are bright, sharp and deep – DVDs look particularly impressive. The keyboard is something of a letdown, feeling a little cheap. However, the rest of the build quality is excellent, and this is a computer that feels ready for a life on the road. It’s also slimmer, at 3.5cm, than most of its rivals here.

Showing its consumer heritage, the keyboard also has a dedicated social networking key for accessing sites such as Facebook, so for addicts it’s probably worthwhile considering it for that alone. However, it does give away the real purpose of the unit – as a home rather than office laptop.
While the Easynote is a good performer, for those on a tight budget the boost in specs probably doesn’t warrant the extra cash unless you’re also planning to use it at home, in which case this a superb machine to go for.

PROS Great screen

CONS Relatively expensive, poor keyboard

 

Sony Vaio, VPC-EA1S1E/W

£699 | sonystyle.co.uk

Sony has gone all out for the fashion market with the latest in its Vaio line, which is available in white, blue, green, pink and black. Once you get past the weird colour scheme (and assuming you don’t go for pink or green), this is a great laptop that will outperform a lot of the other machines here.

It’s well built, although the hinge between the screen and the base seems a little flimsy. The finish is hard to fault, and the keyboard feels good. The 14-inch screen is probably the best here, and is incredibly sharp and bright, making DVDs look brilliant. There’s also a very good trackpad, with designer raised buttons.
In summary, the performance is superb, and graphics create no difficulties for the Vaio either, with all but the most demanding 3D game proving no problem. If you can get past the looks, this offers everything you need – but one can’t help feeling it is ultimately better suited to a teenager’s bedroom than a boardroom.

PROS Good performance and great screen

CONS Expensive, colour range a little bright

 

Dell Vostro 3500

From £419 | dell.co.uk

Dell has completely redesigned its business range and the Vostro is certainly striking, with metal casing and coloured plastic side panels in a choice of red, gold or silver. The design works well, and gives the unit a little bit of a “boy racer” feel, while still being subdued enough to take into the boardroom.

Build quality is excellent and the keyboard is superb, feeling solid and reliable. The 15.6-inch screen is also impressive, although the large display does contribute to the total weight of 2.5kg. However, the performance is well worth it – the Vostro flies through pretty much any task you can throw at it. There’s also a full complement of ports, including an HDMI slot for plugging it into a high-definition TV. It’s a big step forward for Dell in making machines that look as good as they perform.

PROS Powerful

CONS Design won’t appeal to all

 

Toshiba Satellite L500

From £419 | toshiba.co.uk

Very much a workhorse laptop, the L500 is a real shock to the system after the curved design of the Macbook. It’s unashamedly functional, and certainly isn’t going to win any design awards. However, it’s a very good everyday machine, as it does everything you want without too many bells and whistles.

There’s a large 15.6-inch screen, and the quality is reasonable, although a little disappointing when compared with some of the others on test here. However, graphics performance is excellent, and it really flies through video and games. There’s a webcam built into the screen, although the surround seems unusually big. The rest of the laptop is also a little plus-sized, but this does mean there’s a full-sized keyboard and, in a killer feature for spreadsheet fans, a proper numerical keypad.

The keyboard is excellent, and feels solid. The downside to the heft is a weight of 2.7kg, so this isn’t something you’d want to carry around an awful lot. But as a luggable laptop that you’ll generally use on a desk, it’s a good bet. It’s affordable and, while large and unwieldy, is a solid, dependable machine.

PROS Good graphics performance

CONS Poor design, heavy

 

Acer TravelMate TIMELINE TM8371

From £499 | acer.co.uk

Acer has become a force to be reckoned with in the laptop world, and the new Travelmate really cements its reputation as a quality manufacturer. This is a relatively slim machine that offers pretty much every feature you could want, although the design is bland. Also be prepared for a shock when the loud fan kicks in, which in a home environment is particularly distracting.

t’s light, at 1.6kg, and an eight-hour battery life is decent, especially as there’s an “eco” mode that claims to push that to just over ten hours. The looks are rather uninteresting and more rugged than most – this is a solid, well-built machine that seems as if it could take being knocked around a little bit. The keyboard is reasonably good, although key presses feel a little woolly. The trackpad is a satisfactory size and has some neat tricks, allowing you to scroll down a web page using just a finger, for instance.

The 13.3-inch screen is excellent, although graphics quality, particularly 3D, isn’t great. Still, the combination of good battery life and reasonable performance make this a definite contender for the title of best-value all-round everyday laptop – although be warned that it also looks like an everyday business machine.

PROS Great battery life

CONS Very loud

 

Dongles

The mobile broadband USB stick, or “dongle”, has become a part of every laptop owner’s life, giving 3G mobile phone network connections to laptops around the world. For most users, it’s simply a case of finding the best deal, as in terms of features they are generally pretty similar.
If you already have a phone contract, many operators will give you great discounts so do ask. Also see if your mobile can already do the job, as many can connect via

Bluetooth and give you broadband-like speeds via the 3G network.
Three’s Mifi (pictured) is a small standalone gadget that creates a personal wifi hotspot (from £9.50 a month, three.co.uk). The network also offers a more traditional USB stick from £7.50 a month for mobile broadband. Although most of the other network’s products are virtually identical (apart from the pricing), some, such as Virgin Media’s, also offer a micro-SD slot so you can use them to read memory cards from a camera, or use them as a memory stick.

Mark Prigg is science and technology editor at London’s Evening Standard