Lenovo IdeaPad U400

Pros: Stylish understated design; Fast wake from sleep; Good graphics performance; Nifty four-finger touchpad shortcuts

Cons: Finicky touchpad; No SD card slot; Shallow keyboard; AMD graphics-switching not automatic

The Verdict:The 14-inch IdeaPad U400 has a sleek design and discrete graphics, but an over-sensitive touchpad and the lack of an SD card slot dampen our enthusiasm.

Consider it the Ultrabook's bigger brother. The Lenovo IdeaPad U400 has the same design as the slim U300s, but expands it slightly to fit in a larger 14-inch screen and a slot-loading DVD drive. At the same time, Lenovo shrunk the price to $899 and still crammed a Core i5 processor, discrete AMD graphics, 750GB hard drive, and 8GB of RAM in a sleek all-aluminum chassis. However, this thin-and-light notebook is not without its faults. Read on to find out what we liked and what we didn't.

Design

Essentially a larger version of the U300s Ultrabook, the Lenovo IdeaPad U400 has the same subdued but sophisticated design. The top and bottom edges protrude out slightly, like the cover of a book. The notebook is made from a single piece of aluminum with a sandblasted finish. The result is an exterior that not only looks and feels great, but resists fingerprints, too. The bottom, like the top, is completely sealed, creating a unified look. Four rubber pads keep it from sliding around on the desk.
While there's no ridged patterns as on the ASUS U46SV, or speaker grilles as on the Dell XPS 14z, the U400 is elegantly understated. However, we wish it were also offered in Clementine Orange, like the U300s, or in other colors.
Measuring 13.4 x 9.1 x 0.9 inches, the U400 isn't as svelte as the 0.6-inch thick U300s, but it still slid comfortably into our messenger bag. At 4.4 pounds, it weighs the same as the XPS 14z, and is 0.6 pounds lighter than the ASUS U46SV.

Pros: Attractive design; Crisp vibrant display; Good performance for a budget laptop; Decent frame rates for low-end games

Cons: A bit hefty; Washed-out colors on webcam; Loud mouse buttons

The Verdict:The Toshiba Satellite L755-S5166 is a 15-inch laptop that delivers good performance and stylish looks for less than $600.

Toshiba's Satellite L Series promises "style and power" on a budget, and the L755-S5166 does its best to back up that marketing tagline. For $599, you get a stylish brushed aluminum lid and a good mix of components, including a Core i3 processor, 4GB of RAM, a 640GB hard drive and vivid 15.6-inch display. However, in an age when most budget laptops are creeping closer to $500, does the $599 Toshiba Satellite L755-S5166 justify the bump in price?

 

Design

While it may be a budget laptop, the Toshiba Satellite L755-S5166 doesn't look cheap. The system sports a dark blue brushed lid that's fingerprint-resistant and pleasing to the eye. The rest of the design is plastic. The chrome mouse buttons and trim around the edges of the speakers contrast nicely with the darker hues of the lid and palm rests. A glossy black bezel surrounds the 15.6-inch screen, and the deck sports the same solid dark blue color as the lid.
At 15 x 9.8 x 1.5 inches, the Satellite L755-S5166 is comparable in size to the Gateway NV55C54u, HP Pavilion g6 and Acer Aspire 5755-6647, although with a weight of 5.3 pounds it's a bit heftier than both the Gateway and HP (4.8 pounds). Only the Aspire 5755-6647 is heavier at 5.6 pounds.

Samsung Series 9 15 inch

Pros: Very thin and light; Bright crisp 1600 x 900 display; Long battery life; Fast SSD; Very quick boot time

Cons: Finicky touchpad ; Shallow key travel; Mediocre speakers

The Verdict:The thinnest and lightest 15-inch laptop, the Samsung Series 9 is a premium Ultrabook with a great display and about 7 hours of battery life.

A year ago, if someone had told us that a 15-inch notebook would be lighter and thinner than most 13-inch ultraportables, we would have called them crazy. Yet, Samsung has done just that with its new Series 9 15-inch. This $1,499 system weighs less than 4 pounds and is just a hair over half an inch thick. But thinness isn't everything: Inside that svelte chassis is a super bright display, Core i5 processor, 128GB SSD, and 8GB of RAM. Are we looking at the future of mainstream notebooks? Quite possibly.

 

Design

It's as if Samsung put the 13-inch Series 9 on a medieval torture rack, and gave it a good stretch. The 15-inch Series 9 looks essentially the same as its smaller brother, albeit with a larger footprint. The entire chassis is a bluish-gray aluminum unibody that looks as sleek as any Ultrabook we've seen, and resists fingerprints well. We also like the shiny edges, which adds just the right amount of pizzaz, and widens gracefully toward the hinges to accommodate the ports.
At 14 x 9.3 inches, the Series 9 will take up more desk space than the HP Envy 14 Spectre (12.9 x 8.7 inches), but less than the Acer Aspire Timeline Ultra M3 (14.75 x 10 inches). Regardless, there will be no room left on the airplane seat tray.
We can't get over how light the 3.8-pound Series 9 15-inch is. It's also amazingly thin -- at 0.58 inches, it's just a hair thicker than its 13-inch sibling (0.4 inches), and manages to make other Ultrabooks, such as the Acer Aspire Timeline Ultra M3 (0.78 inches, 4.5 pounds) and HP Envy 14 Spectre (0.8 inches, 4 pounds) seem portly by comparison.

ASUS EeePC 1025C Flare

Pros: Affordably priced; Compact and lightweight; Long battery life

Cons: Cramped keyboard and touchpad; Low-res display; Slower than regular laptops

The Verdict:The ASUS Eee PC 1025C Flare lasts more than 9 hours on a charge, weighs 2.4 pounds, and costs just $299, but it's only good enough for basic computing.

n an age when every laptop manufacturer is in a race to create the thinnest, sexiest Ultrabook on the market, it's a surprise to see a new netbook hit the scene. The $299 Eee PC 1025C Flare, the company's latest 10-incher is out to prove that maybe--just maybe--the age of the netbook hasn't ended. Can the Eee PC 1025C carve a niche for itself, or will it be relegated to obsolesence by devices like the iPad? Read on to find out.

Design

ASUS hasn't changed the design of the Eee PC much since we reviewed the Eee PC 1015B in June 2011. The 1025C Flare netbook still features plain -- if not unattractive -- matte black plastic on the lid and palm rests, accentuated by a chrome finish on the sides and on the single long mouse button. The 1025C also comes in other colors, including white and pink.
Although pleasant to feel, the soft-touch plastic on the lid easily picked up fingerprint smudges, giving the laptop a slightly greasy look after a few hours of handling it. The screen's bezel sports a slightly texturized black plastic finish.
Aside from its price, the Eee PC 1025C's light weight and compact size are clearly its main selling points. At just 10.3 x 7.0 x 0.8-1.3 inches and 2.4 pounds (the same weight as the Toshiba Portege Z835 Ultrabook), the netbook is small and light enough to easily fit inside a messenger bag, backpack or even a large purse. It's lighter than its predecessor, the Eee PC 1015B (10.3 x 7.1 x 0.9-1.4 inches, 2.8 pounds), as well as the HP Mini 1103 (10.6 x 7.5 x 0.9 inches, 2.8 pounds), and on a par with the Samsung NC110 (10.4 x 7.4 x 0.97 inches, 2.6 pounds).

HP Envy 14 Spectre

Pros: Beautiful modern design; Solid performance; Comfy backlit keyboard; Sharp and bright display; Good audio

Cons: Serious fingerprint magnet; Mediocre graphics; Runs a bit warm on bottom; Relatively expensive

The Verdict:With its sexy glass design, sharp display and Beats Audio, the HP Envy 14 Spectre is a compelling Ultrabook.

 Each new Ultrabook seems to bring with it a new innovation, and the HP Envy 14 Spectre is no different. This stunning 14-incher is the first laptop to feature a glass lid and palm rest, making it one of the sleekest machines we've seen. However, the Spectre is much more than a pretty face. It packs a Core i5 processor, 128GB SSD, a bright 1600 x 900 display and Beats Audio for your multimedia pleasure. In another first, the Spectre comes with a built-in NFC chip that can be used with an NFC-capable smartphone. But is all this worth the $1,399 price tag?

 

Design

Where the Envy 15 and 17 use a matte black aluminum on the outside, HP went a different route with the Envy 14 Spectre. The lid is made of a beautiful, high gloss midnight black glass. (Don't worry, it's scratch-resistant.) We were immediately taken with the Spectre's clean lines and soft rounded corners; a chrome backlit HP logo in the lower right corner is the lid's only flourish. Unfortunately, as with most glass surfaces, the Envy 14 Spectre picks up fingerprints very easily.
Opening the lid was a bit of hassle, forcing us to slip a fingernail between the lid and the deck to slide it open. Inside, the edge-to-edge glass display and silver deck are nearly a dead ringer for the MacBook Pro, but there are some key differences. The palm rest is made of scratch-resistant glass. While it also picked up fingerprints quickly, they were less noticeable, thanks to the silver aluminum deck that shows through.
Another unique touch is the cheerful red backit Beats logo underneath the keyboard on the right side, which points to the analog volume dial on the notebook's right. Instead of the long prominent speaker bar found along the top of the Envy 15 and 17, there are two medium-size speakers on the notebook's bottom lip.
The Envy 14 Spectre has a solid feel, helped by the soft-touch finish on the underside of the chassis. However, the design is relatively heavy and somewhat thick for a notebook without an optical drive. At 4 pounds, the 12.8 x 8.7 x 0.8-inch Envy 14 Spectre weighs the same as the 14-inch Samsung Series 5 (13.1 x 9.0 x 0.82 inches), which has a tray-loading DVD drive. The Dell XPS 14z (13.2 x 9.2 x 0.9 inches; 4.4 pounds) and the Lenovo IdeaPad U400 (13.4 x 9.1 x 0.9 inches; 4.4 pounds) are heavier but use slot-loading optical drives.
The upcoming Samsung Series 9 14-inch weighs only 3.5 pounds, but it lacks the flair of the Envy Spectre.

ASUS K53SV-B1

Pros: Slick brushed-metal deck; Quad-core Core i7 power; Strong graphics performance; Runs cool

Cons: Below-average battery life; Sluggish hard drive; No USB 3.0 port

The Verdict:The ASUS K53SV-B1 offers quad-core muscle and fast frame rates in a handsome design that keeps its cool.

 The ASUS K53SV-B1 is a handsome machine well suited for mainstream users. It offers plenty of power for day-to-day use, and when put to the test with video and games, its Intel Core i7 and Nvidia GT 540M graphics processor ensure that this system can handle itself. But at $969, is the K53SV a stud or a dud?

Design

Understated yet handsome, the lid on the K53SV features a subtly textured horizontal pinstripe pattern that makes the silver ASUS logo pop and helps minimize--but not eliminate--fingerprint smudges. The mocha color continues onto the ASUS' sturdy, scratch-resistant brushed-aluminum deck, where it blends nicely with the unit's black full-size keyboard. Such a liberal use of dark colors would be overwhelming if not for the silver treatment on the system's power and touchpad buttons.
At 15.1 x 10.1 x 1.4 inches and 6 pounds, the K53SV certainly is light enough to move from room to room but not for travel. This machine is a bit more portable than Dell's XPS 15 L502X (Sandy Bridge), which measures in at 15 x 10.4 x 1.5 inches and 6.6 pounds with its nine-cell battery. However, the HP Pavilion dv6t weighs just 5.8 pounds, and it has a brushed-aluminum lid and sleeker lines.

Acer Aspire 5755-6647

Pros: Solid performance; Vibrant display; Decent battery life; Runs cool

Cons: Narrow mouse bar; Mediocre graphics performance

The Verdict:The 15.6-inch Acer Aspire 5755-6647 laptop offers solid performance and a vivid display at an affordable price

The $599 Acer Aspire 5755-6647 is out to prove that you don't need to fork over a bundle for a good multimedia experience. With its rich 15.6-inch LED display, Core i5 processor and 6GB of RAM, this has the power to handle everyday tasks as well as entertain. But does this Aspire have what it takes to win your hard-earned dollar?

Design

The Aspire 5755-6647 has a low-key, but handsome, look. The glossy black plastic lid reveals a subtle striped pattern that shimmers in the light along with a chrome Acer insignia logo. The interior uses has a slate gray deck with a long black speaker grille that runs above the keyboard. A brushed metal power button sits in the upper left corner. Black strips run along each side of the deck, giving the Aspire 5755 a nice two-tone look.
Although the 15 x 10 x 1.3 inch Aspire 5755-6647 is slightly wider than the 15 x 9.9 x 0.9-1.3-inch Gateway NV55S05u, they both weigh in at 5.6 pounds. The 5.2-pound HP Pavilion g6-1c77nr is slightly smaller than both notebooks at 14.7 x 9.7 x 1.4 inches, but it lacks a dedicated number pad.

Acer Aspire S3

Pros: Thin and light; Less expensive than competition; Good performance

Cons: Very short battery life; Cheap plastic chassis; Slow hard drive; Stiff keyboard; Limited viewing angles; Poor audio

The Verdict:The Acer Aspire S3 Ultrabook costs a lot less than the 13-inch MacBook Air but cuts too many corners to make it worthwhile.

Ever since the MacBook Air came out, consumers--and other notebook makers--have been lusting after that ultra-slim design. The 13-inch Acer Aspire S3 parrots this sexy aesthetic with a brushed aluminum lid, 3-pound weight, and half-inch thick chassis. And, at $899, it's $200 to $300 less expensive than competing systems such as the upcoming ASUS Zenbook UX31 and the Air, making it all the more appealing to those looking to save a few pennies. But are the trade-offs worth it?

Design

It's pretty clear that every Ultrabook maker is gunning for the MacBook Air, and the Aspire S3 is no exception. However, Acer had to make some sacrifices to keep its price low--no duralumin or unibody designs here. The lid of the S3 is a brushed aluminum, but the underside and deck are made of a silver-colored plastic, and it's made to look like a unibody design even though it is not. The black hinge area at the rear accommodates the S3's ports as well as an air vent. Four rubber pads on the bottom also keep the S3 from sliding around on a desk.

At just 0.51-0.6 inches thick, the S3 is a shade thicker than the 13-inch MacBook Air, which tapers from 0.11 to 0.68 inches. Weighing 3 pounds even, the S3 is also on a par with Apple's ultraportable. This system easily slipped into a small messenger bag and was barely noticeable as we rode home on the subway.