1. SONY E SERIES
Sony doesn’t often make an appearance in the sub-£600 category, but this E Series laptop is a welcome exception. It’s big and heavy – 2.7Kg is a lot even for a model with a 15.5-inch screen – so it’ll probably spend most of its time indoors. However, its chunky, curvy design certainly stands out from the crowd and even has a kind of retro charm. Performance is good too, with the latest Ivy Bridge version of Intel’s i3 processor running at a healthy 2.5GHz. That’s good for the price, and you get a large 750GB hard disk too, along with 4GB of memory.
Key features: 2.7Kg weight, 15.5-inch screen, i3 running at 2.5GHz, 750GB hard disk
Perfect for: entertainment and web browsing at home – but not in your backpack.
Price: £529.00 / $690.00 / Rs. 37,500/-
2. SAMSUNG NP355
It’s not the most elegant laptop we’ve ever seen, and a weight of 2.5Kg means that it’s primarily intended for use at home rather than being carried around in a backpack. However, the NP355 provides a powerful quad-core AMD A8 processor running at 1.8GHz for just £399.99. That’s a lot of bang for your buck, and it also includes a healthy 6GB of memory, a full 1TB hard disk and an attractive 15.6-inch screen. That makes it a good low-cost option for demanding tasks such as photo- or video-editing.
Key features: quad-core processor, 6GB memory, 1TB hard disk
Perfect for: people who need a powerful laptop mainly for use at home or in the office
Price: £399.99 / $522.47 / Rs. 28350/-
3. ASUS X501
Key features: sturdy design, 15.6 inch screen, 1GHz processor
Perfect for: students trying to keep their overdraft under control
Price: £279.99 / $365.77 / Rs. 19850/-
4. TOSHIBA SATELLITE C875
When I’m looking for a large-screen laptop for watching video I tend to turn to Toshiba, as their expertise with high-def TVs ensures that their laptops always have really nice screens. The C875 has a full 17.3- inch screen that is great for watching films and TV. Admittedly, the Pentium processor isn’t exactly state of the art, but it runs at 2.2GHz so you’ve got plenty of horsepower for tasks such as video-editing that will also benefit from that big screen. You also get plenty of storage, with 8GB of memory and 750GB hard disk – but it weighs a hefty 2.7Kg so don’t expect to carry it around in your backpack.
Key features: 17.3-inch screen, 2.7Kg weight, 2.2GHz processor, 8GB memory
Perfect for: watching or editing video, and as part of a home entertainment system
Price: £430.00 / $562.00 / Rs. 30500/-
5. LENOVO U410
The U410 has had a bit of a facelift for this new Windows 8 model. The candy-coloured laptop that was originally designed ‘for the girls’ has been replaced by a smart, silvery MacBook clone (the coloured ones are still available with Windows 7). Prices start at £599.99 for a model with a 14-inch screen and an Intel i3 processor running at 1.8GHz, 4GB of memory and 500GB hard disk. That’s fast enough for most routine computer work, and the 14-inch screen keeps the weight down to 1.8Kg so you can carry it around in a backpack quite easily.
Key features: 1.8Kg weight, i3 running at 1.8GHz, 14-inch screen
Perfect for: aimed at students, but a good option for anyone that wants a lightweight 14-inch laptop
Price: £599.99 / $783.71 / Rs. 42,500/-
6. HP PAVILION G6
The G6 has always been HP’s affordable ‘everyday’ laptop, so it’s a good choice for anyone on a tight budget. There’s nothing fancy about the G6 – it doesn’t have a touch-sensitive screen or the latest Ivy Bridge processors from Intel – but it has an attractive 15.6-inch screen and a very respectable specification for its sub-£500 price tag. The cheapest model starts at around £399, but we reckon the sweet-spot is the £449 model that has an i3 processor running at a healthy 2.4GHz, 4GB of memory and a large 750GB hard disk. HP is even throwing in a free carrying case and spare mouse at the moment too.
Key features: 15.6-inch screen, i3 running at 2.4GHz, 750GB hard disk
Perfect for: people with large collections of music, photos and video
Price: £449.00 / $586.49 / Rs. 32,000/-
7. ASUS VIVOBOOK S200
The VivoBook is clearly inspired by Apple’s MacBook Air, having a similar metallic design and ultra-compact 11.6-inch screen that weighs in at just 1.3kg. However, it’s quite a bit cheaper than the MacBook Air, coming in at around £450 and also including a touch-sensitive screen for the tiled interface of Windows 8. The i3 processor only runs at 1.4GHz, but that’s fine for routine tasks such as email and browsing the web, and you get 4GB of memory and 500GB hard disk too.
Key features: 11.6-inch touch-sensitive screen, 1.3kg weight, i3 processor running at 1.4GHz
Perfect for: fashionistas who want a bijou little laptop for their handbag or man-bag
Price: £449.00 / $586.49 / Rs. 32,000
8. HP ENVY 6 SLEEKBOOK
HP isn’t allowed to call this an ‘Ultrabook’ as that’s an Intel trademark and the Sleekbook actually has an AMD processor inside it rather than an Intel chip. It’s as slim as an Ultrabook, though, measuring just 19.8mm thick, and at 2.1kg it’s a lot lighter than most laptops that have a 15.6-inch screen. Prices start at just £479.99 for a model with an A6 processor running at 2.1GHz, 4GB of memory and 500GB hard disk, but you can bump the memory up to 8GB and still come in at around £550. The screen’s not touch-sensitive, though.
Key features: 19.8mm thick, 15.6-inch screen, 2.1GHz processor
Perfect for: people who want a large screen and plenty of power
Price: £479.99 / $626.99 / Rs. 34,000/-
9. DELL INSPIRON 15Z
Dell’s Inspiron 15z is a very smart-looking laptop that provides enough power for business users while still being affordable enough for home users. The solidly built unit houses a bright and attractive 15.6-inch screen – not touch-sensitive in this £559 model, although there is a touch-sensitive version available for around £800. It sports the latest Ivy Bridge version of Intel’s i3 processor running at 1.8GHz, which is more than fast enough for most day-to-day computing tasks, and for another £50 quid you can step up to a more powerful i5 processor too.
Key features: good build quality, i3 running at 1.8GHz, 4GB memory, 500GB hard disk
Perfect for: a good workhorse of a laptop for both home and business users
Price: £559.00 / $730.00 / Rs. 39,500/-
10. ACER ASPIRE V5-571P TOUCH
There aren’t many laptops in this price range that have a proper touch-sensitive screen, but the Aspire V5 manages to squeeze one in for well under £600. However, you do have to trade a bit of processor power for the touch-screen controls, as the Intel i3 chip inside the V5 only runs at a modest 1.4GHz. Even so, that should still be fine for browsing the web and running software such as Microsoft Office, and the 4GB of memory and 500GB hard disk provide room for all your music, photos and videos.
Key features: touch-sensitive 15.6-inch screen, i3 running at 1.4GHz, 500GB hard disk
Perfect for: casual users who just want to do a bit of email and web browsing
Price: £549.00 / $699.00 / Rs. 38,900/-
