Friday, October 2, 2015
Smartphones Under Rs 10,000
A couple of years ago, budget smartphone catalogue was only limited to domestic players such as Micromax, Karbonn, and LAVA. Now with biggies such as Nokia and Motorola looking to grab some market share, users are spoilt for the choice. Today, you can get phones from top-tier brands without crossing the Rs 10,000 mark. Now if that’s your budget, here’s the list of handsets you should consider buying. Last Updated: 3-August-2015.
Nokia Lumia 638 (4G LTE)
Street Price: Rs 6000
The Lumia 638 offers sturdy build and trendy looks in an affordable package. It features a 4.5-inch IPS screen with 480x854 pixels. The display features ClearBlack polarisation filter for better sunlight legibility. Plus, the Gorilla Glass 3 protects it against scratches. The phone is powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 400 (quad-core) chipset. Apart from the 8 GB internal storage, the phone features a microSD card slot. There’s a 5 megapixel camera, Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi, GPS, and 1830 mAh battery. Unlike the 630's limited 512 MB RAM, this one packs-in 1 GB. And that's more than enough to deliver fluid UX on Windows Phone 8.1 platform.
[Read also: Nokia Lumia 638 specifications]
Xiaomi Redmi 2
Price: Rs 7000
Xiaomi's successor to the hit Redmi 1 is another winner. The compact phone features a 4.7" HD IPS screen. It is powered by a 64-bit quad-core Snapdragon 410 chip clock. The Redmi 2 has Adreno 305 GPU and 1 GB RAM to handle casual gaming. 8 GB internal storage is accompanied by a micro SD card slot. In the camera department, you get an 8 megapixel camera. There's even 4G support, which further sweetens the deal.
[Read also: Xiaomi Redmi 2 specifications]
Asus ZenFone 5 (16 GB)
Street Price: Rs 10,000
If Windows Phone is not your cup of tea, then the ZenFone 5 is your best bet. This budget handset from the popular laptop-maker Asus, packs in a crisp 5-inch IPS screen. Thanks to a 1.6 GHz Dual-Core Intel Atom Z2560 chipset, the ZenFone offers zippy performance. Plus, 2 GB RAM and PowerVR SGX544MP2 GPU ensure good gaming experience. The 8 megaixel camera is much better than what most Android phones in this category offer. Other features, include 16 GB internal storage, microSD card slot, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 3G, A-GPS, and 2110 mAh battery. Unlike Motorola and Nokia, the Taiwanese manufacturer Asus has been generous enough to offer a 2 megapixel front-facing camera as well.
[Read also: Asus Zenfone 2 vs Zenfone 5 key differences]
YU Yureka
Price: Rs 9000 (Amazon exclusive)
The YU Yureka is the only sub-10k handset to pack in the powerful Snapdragon 615 chip. It offers OnePlus One like Cyanogen experience for less than half the price. Gaming is taken care of by the Adreno 405 GPU and 2 GB RAM. Despite its affordable price, Yureka comes with 16 GB internal storage with microSD card slot. Other features include a 13 megapixel camera, 4G LTE support, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, and 2500 mAh battery. If you are looking for a powerful Android "phablet" under Rs 10,000, this 5.5-inch smartphones is the way to go..
[Read also: Yu Yureka Plus Launched]
Acer Aspire Switch 10 E Laptop Review: Is It Good for Business?
Acer's Aspire Switch 10 E is a portable, long-lasting laptop that sells for cheap, although its keyboard is a bit cramped. That makes this $349 laptop a mixed bag as a work machine, since slightly larger, 11-inch hybrids offer roomier, sturdier keyboards without sacrificing too much portability. Still, the Switch 10 E's unbeatable longevity, solid performance and versatile detachable display might be fair trade-offs for a mediocre typing experience.
[For more information on how we test mobile devices, visit our testing methodology page.]
Design
Our Switch 10 E review unit came with a purplish-gray paint job that isn't pretty, though the device is also available in white and gray. The faux-linen texture on the back gives the impression of stitching, which actually looks pretty nice and makes the device easy to hang onto.
The Switch 10 E has a smaller screen than those of its closest competitors, so the device as a whole is also smaller. It weighs just 2.9 lbs., which makes it lighter the both the 3.2-lb. HP Pavilion x360 11 and the 3.1-lb. Dell Inspiron 11 3000. If you need a notebook to carry on your daily commute, or on work trips, the Switch 10 E is the most portable of the bunch, but only by a little.
Most hybrid laptops suffer from top-heavy designs, and the Switch 10 E is a particularly egregious offender. Tipping the display back a bit to get a better viewing angle causes the whole thing to topple over backward, unless you're holding it down with your wrists on the keyboard. On a flat desk or table, the display can be tipped about 30 degrees before becoming unstable; on my lap, the threshold was closer to 15 degrees. If you plan to do a lot of typing with the Switch 10 E in your lap, you'll have to remember to hang onto it.
On the other hand, I appreciate that Acer allows the hinge to open beyond the point of stability. Similar hybrids like the Dell Venue 11 Pro severely restrict your viewing angle to avoid this stability issue, but that results in a laptop that's almost useless in your lap.
Multiple modes
What separates the Switch 10 E from conventional notebooks is its convertible design. The keyboard dock is fully detachable, giving you the option to use the device like a laptop or stand-alone tablet.
The display connects to the keyboard magnetically, so detaching the screen is as easy as giving it a firm tug. Re-attaching the tablet is equally easy, and I liked that I could attach the display to the dock in reverse orientation. This lets you use Tent and Stand modes, both of which are handy for using the touch screen in cramped quarters, such as on an airplane tray table.
Display
Can you work on a 10.1-inch display? That's the question to ask yourself before considering the Aspire Switch 10 E as your next work machine. The compact display makes for a portable machine overall, but it also feels cramped for screen-intensive work tasks like viewing documents and editing spreadsheets. And I longed for a bit more breathing room while I typed this review on the Switch 10 E, with my Word document opened on one half of the screen and a Web browser open on the other half. The extra inch of screen size afforded by competing, 11-inch machines like the Inspiron 11 3000 makes them noticeably roomier.
At least the Switch 10 E's display is reasonably sharp for its size, with a resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels. The IPS display panel offers good viewing angles, and it's pretty bright, too, topping out at 263 nits of brightness. That beats the 234-nit average for the category, though the Inspiron 11 3000's 308-nit screen is brighter. A bright display is nice because it's easier to view outdoors or in direct sunlight.
Keyboard and touchpad
It's not Acer's fault that the Switch 10 E's keyboard is slightly undersized, since the notebook's 10.1-inch frame simply couldn't accommodate a larger layout. In fact, all other 10-inch laptops suffer from the same problem.
Users with small hands might have no issues with the small keyboard, but I found it uncomfortable after about an hour of typing while I worked on this review. That may not be an issue if your job involves minimal typing, as the layout is perfectly fine for hammering out the occasional email reply.
Size aside, the keyboard is more than serviceable. Its 1.3 mm of travel is a bit on the shallow side, but that's typical for small laptops like this one. The keys themselves feel pretty snappy, providing a satisfying level of feedback with each keystroke.
Ports
The Switch 10 E includes a serviceable number of ports for on-the-go productivity. The tablet itself has a single micro-USB port for connecting accessories, as well as a micro-HDMI port for linking the device to a larger monitor or projector, and a micro-SD card slot for expanding the device's internal storage.
The keyboard dock has just one port: a single, full-size USB 2.0 port, which is nice for connecting peripherals like a mouse or external hard drive. I would have preferred a USB 3.0 port, though, for faster data transfer.
Performance
The Switch 10 E is fast enough for light productivity, but it's not cut out to be your primary PC. The device is powered by a 1.33-GHz Intel Atom Z3735 processor with 2GB of RAM, which provides reasonable speed for editing documents, managing your email inbox and browsing the Web. Apps opened and closed quickly during my testing period, and light multitasking was smooth enough.
The Switch 10 E racked up a middle-of-the-road score of 2,123 on the Geekbench 3 test, which measures overall performance. That beats out the Toshiba Satellite Radius 11 (1,725) and Lenovo Flex 3 11 (1,834), but the HP Pavilion x360 11 (3,992) scored higher.
Battery life
No other compact hybrid can match the longevity of the Switch 10 E, which makes it a great travel companion for business users. The machine ran for an impressive 8 hours and 28 minutes on our battery test, which simulates continuous Web browsing over Wi-Fi. That's a full 2 hours longer than the average budget-priced 2-in-1 laptop (6:26). Among competing devices, the Dell Inspiron 11 3000 comes closest, running for a decent 6 hours and 42 minutes on the same battery test.
Operating system
The Switch 10 E ships with Windows 10, the latest version of Microsoft's PC operating system. The OS is perfect for a hybrid device like this, since Windows 10 offers separate Laptop and Tablet modes. While Laptop mode will look familiar to veteran PC users, offering a standard desktop layout, Tablet mode is more touch-friendly, with full-screen apps and big navigation buttons at the bottom of the interface. You can set the Switch 10 E to automatically enter Tablet mode when you detach the keyboard, or you can trigger this manually each time.
Bottom line
With the best battery life of any budget hybrid we've tested, Acer's $349 Aspire Switch 10 E can last through the longest business flights. It also offers a handy detachable design and solid performance for basic productivity on the go.
But you'll make concessions for the Switch 10 E's ultraportable size. The small keyboard feels cramped, and the 10.1-inch display doesn't offer a lot of room to work on.
Slightly larger devices like the 11-inch Dell Inspiron 11 3000 are more comfortable for extended work sessions. The 11.6-inch HP Pavilion x360, meanwhile, is bulkier still, but offers faster performance than other compact hybrids. Still, no device in its category can quite match the Switch 10 E's portable design and long battery life.
Lenovo Thinkpad Review
Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E500 review
Lenovo still has an enviable reputation for dependable business laptops, even after its consumer division was caught installing Superfish advertising malware on new laptops this year to turn a quick buck. Lenovo’s spokesman assured us that no such malware features in its business laptop loan stock.
The ThinkPad Edge E500 is a budget business machine, bottom of the range for buyers looking to minimise investment. "Business" is of course a slightly meaningless classification these days - this laptop is no different from some entry-level gaming laptop in terms of specifications. There’s but one size for the whole range, a relatively solid-feeling 15-incher with a fifth-generation Intel Core processor and traditional hard disk for storage. Options run from low-resolution display and Core i5 to Full HD TN screen with dual-core 2.4 GHz Core i7 – we tested the latter.
ThinkPad Edge E500 review: build and design
The matt-black casework is plain but serviceable, weighing over 2.4kg on the scales and more than 33mm thick thanks to a fat 48Wh battery. This is removable, letting you carry a spare to augment the circa-seven hours runtime (7 hr 11 min measured in our wireless streaming test).
Projectors or second displays can be connected to VGA or HDMI, and of three USB ports, two are of the modern v3.0 persuasion. There’s a tray-load DVD drive, which is removable, while the top deck follows the Lenovo template of IBM trackpoint and three real buttons, supplementing a buttonless trackpad.
The keyboard has tightly sprung ‘shield’ tiles, not as delicious as Lenovo’s usual but still a treat to type upon compared to many Windows laptops. The power inlet is Lenovo’s reversible USB-style port. We found a fault that meant even with charger attached the battery was not always charging. Beware this can sap performance further as the machine goes into battery-saving mode.
ThinkPad Edge E500 review: Performance
There’s no escaping the E500’s primary flaw – this laptop is glacially slow in normal use. Forget the benchmark numbers which only give guide to program processing speeds. Daily tasks like launching a program, saving a document, booting and rebooting, took geological time to complete.
We counted around 10 seconds to launch many programs – more than 20 seconds to open WordPad – and boot times counted in minutes rather than seconds; even after AVG was removed.
Geekbench 3 results of 2892 and 5899 points give no clue to the subjectively slow performance. PCMark Home returned a reasonable score of 2807 points, responding well to GPU acceleration (3599 points).
The cheapest model has Intel graphics while our sample added AMD Radeon R7 M265 Series. When we tested gameplay, it could manage Full HD Batman: Arkham City with High detail (39fps) but Tomb Raider only averaged 29fps with Normal detail.
Lenovo has scrimped on the display, fitting a budget TN panel with poor accuracy (Delta E 10.0), low contrast (80:1) and limited colour (60 percent sRGB). It has a matt finish to reduce reflections although that won’t help its restricted off-axis visibility.
Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E500: Specs
- 15.6-inch (1920 x 1080) 141 ppi TN matt anti-glare display
- Windows 7 Professional (option for 8.1)
- 2.4 GHz Intel Core i7-5500U (3.0 GHz Turbo) 2C, 4T
- AMD Radeon R7 M265 Series with 2 GB DDR3 + Intel HD Graphics 5500
- 8 GB 1600 MHz DDR3L RAM
- 1 TB 5400 rpm SATA HDD
- gigabit ethernet
- 802.11ac, 1x1 MIMO (Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 3160)
- Bluetooth 4.0
- DVD±RW, tray-load, removable
- 2x USB 3.0, 1x USB 2.0
- HDMI, VGA
- Kensington Security Slot, fingerprint sensor
- SDXC card slot
- stereo speakers
- 0.9 Mp webcam and built-in mic
- 3.5 mm headset jack
- UK shaped tile keyboard with numberpad
- buttonless trackpad, 100 x 57 mm, with trackpoint and three buttons
- 48 Wh lithium-ion battery, removable
- 45 W mains charger with IEC C5 inlet
- 376 x 253 x 28.3–33.2 mm
- 2415 g
- 15.6-inch (1920 x 1080) 141 ppi TN matt anti-glare display
- Windows 7 Professional (option for 8.1)
- 2.4 GHz Intel Core i7-5500U (3.0 GHz Turbo) 2C, 4T
- AMD Radeon R7 M265 Series with 2 GB DDR3 + Intel HD Graphics 5500
- 8 GB 1600 MHz DDR3L RAM
- 1 TB 5400 rpm SATA HDD
- gigabit ethernet
- 802.11ac, 1x1 MIMO (Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 3160)
- Bluetooth 4.0
- DVD±RW, tray-load, removable
- 2x USB 3.0, 1x USB 2.0
- HDMI, VGA
- Kensington Security Slot, fingerprint sensor
- SDXC card slot
- stereo speakers
- 0.9 Mp webcam and built-in mic
- 3.5 mm headset jack
- UK shaped tile keyboard with numberpad
- buttonless trackpad, 100 x 57 mm, with trackpoint and three buttons
- 48 Wh lithium-ion battery, removable
- 45 W mains charger with IEC C5 inlet
- 376 x 253 x 28.3–33.2 mm
- 2415 g
OUR VERDICT
The E550's build quality is fine, its battery life not terrible, and the Intel chip looks fast and frugal. But the screen is below par and - ultimately - this finger-drummingly slow laptop cannot be recommended for anyone that needs to get work done in a hurry.
The 19 best laptops of 2015
Whether you're after a budget laptop, business Ultrabook, professional workstation or a gaming goliath, Alphr's definitive list has got something that will fit the bill. From low-cost laptops that are ideal for the back-to-school rush, to the finest Ultrabooks and cutting-edge hybrids, we've collected the very best laptop deals available in the UK.
We haven't forgotten about business laptops and professional workstations, either. Skip on over to page 2 using the menu above and we've collected our favourite office machines, from lightweight Ultrabooks to powerhouse desktop replacements.
Not sure what to buy? Then the first job is to work out what type of laptop you need. Thanks to the explosion of different designs, such as hybrids and convertible tablets, there's now a huge range of devices to choose from.
Buyer's guide: Laptop, touchscreen or hybrid?
For a simple, everyday computer, there’s still nothing to beat the traditional laptop. You don't need to spend a fortune, either. A standard sub-£500 laptop will do pretty much all things more expensive models can do, albeit at a slower pace and/or with a less stylish design. Generally speaking, the only obvious compromises are in screen quality and resolution, and the lack of really powerful gaming-class graphics (GPUs).
Dial back your budget to around £300, however, and there are still plenty of options. At this price, full-sized 15.6in laptops are weighty, plasticky affairs with modest specifications and low-quality screens, but these are still absolutely fine for basic use. You don't have to put up with a chunky laptop just because you're on a budget, however, as it's now possible to buy lightweight Windows laptops for as little as £200 (see the HP Stream 11 below). These models generally pair smaller, low-resolution 11.6in screens with tiny 16 or 32GB solid-state disks, low-power processors and a minimum of frills, and they're a great option for students and people that need a laptop they can carry about every day.
Up your spend, and you’ll be able to consider an Ultrabook – thin and light machines that look as good as they perform – or a more luxurious touchscreen laptop or hybrid. A touchscreen isn't essential, but it's nice to be able to pinch, flick and swipe your way through Windows 10 and scroll around web pages. Plus, it gives your fingers a bit of respite from tiresome touchpad prodding.
If you want to take it to the next level, a hybrid could be the way to go, and with prices tumbling all the time, these are no longer a premium-priced option – they start from around £400. These machines allow you to detach or fold away the keyboard so you can use your laptop just like an iPad or Android tablet. For surfing the web on a sofa or just watching videos, many hybrid designs have the edge on a traditional laptop.
Business laptops aren't the boring things they used to be, though – we're used to seeing business Ultrabooks which are every bit as good looking as their high-end consumer rivals. They do have some major advantages over standard home laptops, however. Business laptops routinely add office-friendly features such as fingerprints and smartcard readers, Ethernet sockets, and upgradeable components to give you more practical bang for your buck. Accessories such as docking stations are usually high up on the list of priorities, too, and longer warranties are par for the course.
If you have any more questions then drop us a line in the comments below, or hit the Twitter icon at the top of the page. It's good to talk.
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The best laptops of 2015
1. Apple MacBook Pro 13in with Retina Display (2015)
Price when reviewed: from £999 inc VAT
Key specs: 13.3in 2,560 x 1,600 display | Intel Core i5/i7 | 128-512GB SSD | 1.58kg
2015 sees the MacBook Pro mature into something beautifully well-rounded. It’s light, and the arrival of Intel's Broadwell processor technology provides a fine balance between power and stamina. The high-DPI display and all-round quality alone are enough to make us wonder why we’d spend £1,000 on any other laptop, and the innovative Force Touch trackpad simply adds to the attraction. Click here to read our Apple Macbook Pro with Retina Display review
2. Microsoft Surface Pro 3
Price when reviewed: from £639 (64GB)
Key specs: 12in 2,160 x 1,440 display | Intel Core i3/i5/i7 | 64-512GB SSD | 800g (tablet only)
The Surface Pro 3 represents a confident step towards the perfect hybrid device. The new 3:2 display makes it a far more agreeable tablet than its predecessors, while the new kickstand and Type Cover make it a more convincing alternative to a regular laptop. It still isn’t perfect, but it feels considerably less compromised than the previous generations. The only real stumbling point is pricing. Although the 64GB model looks like great value, we’d hesitate to recommend anything less than a 256GB SSD for serious use. It's well worth keeping your eyes peeled for any discounts, though: the Broadwell-equipped Surface Pro 4 is waiting in the wings. Click here to read our Microsoft Surface Pro 3 review
3. HP Stream 11
Price when reviewed: £180 inc VAT
Key specs: 11.6in 1,366 x 768 display | Intel Celeron N2840 | 32GB eMMC | 1.29kg
Even were there nothing else to recommend the HP Stream 11, its eye-catching design would win it plenty of fans. HP’s Windows 8.1 with Bing budget laptop comes in a choice of vibrant blue or magenta finishes, with a slim, lightweight chassis. It's a little more versatile than a Chromebook, working brilliantly with online apps, but it's still able to run more conventional Windows software if you’re sensible about your requirements or pair it with an external USB 3 hard disk (the 32GB of storage is an ever-present limitation). Click here to read our HP Stream 11 review
4. Asus Zenbook UX303LA
Price when reviewed: £700 inc VAT
Key specs: 13.3in 1,920 x 1,080 display | Intel Core i7 | 128GB SSD | 1.4kg
The Asus Zenbook UX303LA was one of the first laptops to sport Intel's Broadwell CPUs when it first landed - and it remains an excellent buy. Given that it delivers a taste of premium Ultrabook performance for around £700, it's something of a bargain. It houses a dual-core, 2.4GHz Core i7 CPU, 6GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD, and while performance isn't a huge leap forward over the previous generation, the efficiency of the new chip is supreme. It also has an excellent 13.3in Full HD screen and a decent keyboard, a lovely design and a very tempting price. Not many other laptops can match this machine's all-round appeal and value for money. Click here to read the full review of the Asus Zenbook UX303LA
5. Toshiba Chromebook 2
Price when reviewed: £280 inc VAT
Key specs: 13.3in 1,920 x 1,080 display | Intel Celeron N2840 | 32GB SSD | 1.35kg
The fact that this laptop doesn't run Windows will leave some people running for the hills, but Toshiba has done a superb job with the Chromebook 2. We’ve long been hankering after a Chromebook with a top-quality screen, and the Toshiba’s Full HD display certainly delivers on that front – it's better than many displays on laptops at three times the price. We could ask for a little more travel in the keyboard, longer battery life and perhaps a better set of speakers, but we’re just being spoilt. Right now, this is the Chromebook we’d buy - and it offers a fine alternative to the likes of HP's bargain-priced Stream 11. Click here to read the Toshiba Chromebook 2 review
6. Microsoft Surface 3
Price when reviewed: £419 inc VAT
Key specs: 10.8in 1,920 x 1,280 display | Intel Atom x7 | 64/128GB SSD | 622g (tablet only)
Looking for a more portable alternative to the Surface Pro 3? The Microsoft Surface 3 is it. It has a slightly lower screen resolution, but the smaller screen means that pixel density is identical, so image quality is every bit as sharp. At £419, it's significantly cheaper than the £649 Surface Pro 3, although it's worth bearing in mind that the Type keyboard inflates the price by £119, and the Surface Pen adds another £45. Of course, the Atom processor does mean that the Surface 3 is a tad underpowered, but if you don't need to chomp through Photoshop edits on a regular basis, it's a capable little hybrid - and as classy as Windows devices get. Click here to read our Microsoft Surface 3 review
7. Toshiba Satellite CL10-B
Price when reviewed: £180 inc VAT
Key specs: 11.6in 1,366 x 768 display | Intel Celeron N2840 | 32GB eMMC | 1.1kg
When is a Chromebook not a Chromebook? When it runs Windows 8.1 with Bing. Toshiba's £199 laptop is no powerhouse, and just like Google's Chromebook fleet it's equipped with a mere 32GB of eMMC (similar to an SSD, but slower) storage, but it also comes bundled with a two-year subscription to 100GB of OneDrive cloud storage. As a basic laptop for everyday use, it's an attractive proposition. The all-plastic chassis feels sturdy, and while the display is hardly the last word in quality, it's bright enough, and battery life is good, too. Click here to read our Toshiba Satellite CL10-B review
8. Dell XPS 13
Price when reviewed: £1,099 inc VAT
Key specs: 13.3in 3,200 x 1,800 display | Intel Core i5/i7 | 128-512GB SSD | 1.27kg
Dell's XPS 13 has all the hallmarks of a no-compromise, high-end Ultrabook. Intel's Broadwell processors join forces with a speedy SSD and high-DPI display, and the XPS 13 looks and feels just like a flagship laptop should. There are a few aggravating niggles – the high-DPI display has an aggressive dynamic contrast feature that constantly adjusts the brightness, for starters – but it's impossible not to retain a soft spot for the XPS 13. One of Alphr's team has been working on one for the past few months, and has no complaints whatsoever – given the opportunity, he refused to swap it for a 13in MacBook Pro with Retina display. Yes, it's that good. Click here to read the Dell XPS 13 review
9. Apple MacBook (12in)
Price when reviewed: £1,049 inc VAT
Key specs: 12in 2,304 x 1,440 display | Intel Core M | 256/512GB SSD | 923g
There's no denying it, the MacBook is one seriously gorgeous machine. Yet this minimalist, ultra-light portable won't be for everyone. It isn't powerful enough to do the same jobs a MacBook Pro 13in with Retina Display can, it's expensive and connectivity - limited to a single Type-C USB port - isn't ideal for a work machine, either. Still, if light weight and desirability matter more to you than all-out practicality, there's nothing else that comes close. Click here to read our Apple Macbook 12-inch review
10. Acer Aspire E1 review
Price when reviewed: £350 inc VAT
Key specs: 15.6in 1,366 x 768 display | Intel Core i3 | 500GB HDD | 2.2kg
Budget laptops rarely set the pulse racing, but the Acer Aspire E1 excites purely by virtue of its price. For a mere £350, this 15.6in laptop touts a Core i3 CPU, 750GB hard disk and all the essential trimmings. There are no exciting design flourishes to thrill the eye, nor even the slightest hint of high-end technology, but then this is an unshowy 15.6in laptop with good build quality and a great specification for the money. Click here to read our Acer Aspire E1 review
11. Asus Transformer Book Chi T300
Price when reviewed: £799 inc VAT
Key specs: 12.5in 2,560 x 1,440 display | Intel Core M-5Y71 | 128GB SSD | 1.43kg (tablet 720g)
The Transformer Book Chi T300 is a great little hybrid. The high-DPI display is superb, the design attractive and, crucially, this is a hybrid that manages to perform well in both tablet and laptop roles. If you’ve been looking for a more affordable, more flexible alternative to the Surface Pro 3, the Asus Transformer Book Chi T300 is well worth considering. Click here to read our Asus Transformer Book Chi T300 review
BEST GAMING LAPTOPS
12. Chillblast Defiant 2 Mini review
Price when reviewed: £899 inc VAT
Key specs: 13.3in 1,920 x 1,080 display | Intel Core i7 | 1TB hybrid HDD | 2.1kg
Portable, powerful and affordable are three words that rarely go together when one thinks of gaming laptops, but that’s exactly what Chillblast has served up with the Defiant 2 Mini. Like squeezing the engine of a supercar into a hatchback, the Defiant 2 Mini unites a quad-core Intel CPU, a cracking Full HD IPS display and has recently been upgraded with the latest Nvidia GTX 960M graphics chip. If you want to play the latest games but don't want to shell out on a giant laptop, the Defiant 2 Mini is a pint-sized wonder. Click here to read our Chillblast Defiant 2 Mini review
13. MSI GT72 Dominator Pro
Price when reviewed: £2,000 inc VAT
Key specs: 17.3in 1,920 x 1,080 display | Intel Core i7 | 2x 128GB SSD, 1TB HDD | 4kg
The MSI GT72 is every inch the gaming laptop we’d love to own. And we wouldn’t be disheartened by the hefty asking price, either: the price of our review unit was inflated due to the inclusion of a swathe of SteelSeries gaming accessories and an MSI rucksack. Spend a little time shopping around and, as long as you don’t mind dropping to 8GB of RAM and a single 128GB SSD, you can buy a GT72 equipped with a 4GB GTX 980M for less than £1,400. At that price, this easily upgradable powerhouse is a steal. Click here to read our MSI GT72 Dominator Pro review
14. Chillblast Helix 2 17in
Price when reviewed: £1,430 inc VAT
Key specs: 17.3in 1,920 x 1,080 display | Intel Core i7 | 128GB SSD, 1TB HDD | 2.66kg
There's no two ways around it: 17in gaming laptops are chunky monsters. Not so the Chillblast Helix 2. It has the same plus-size footprint as its big-screened rivals, but it's gone on a crash diet to achieve its 27mm thickness. It's still no lightweight, but the payoff is very respectable performance across the board. A quad-core Core i7, 128GB SSD, 1TB HDD and Nvidia's GeForce GTX 970M provide enough oomph to run most games smoothly at the 17in screen's Full HD resolution. If you want big-screened gaming power with a little less bulk, the Helix 2 could be just the ticket. Click here to read out Chillblast Helix 2 review
The Toshiba Radius 15 is a big-screen 2-in-1 featuring premium Harmon Kardon speakers and a dedicated Cortana button for a reasonable $850. You're getting solid specs for the money, too, including an Intel Core i5 CPU, 8GB of RAM and a 750GB hard drive. However, this Best Buy exclusive has a couple of trade-offs that detract from its value in the form of below-average battery life and an annoyingly sharp front lip.
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Design
Unlike the smaller Satellite Radius 14, the Radius 15 P55W features lovely brushed-metal panels both inside and out. It's a much more premium feel, and it also does a better job of combatting oil and fingerprints.
Inside, a large grille above the keyboard covers the Harmon Kardon speakers, and two big, sturdy hinges connect the rotating display to the smooth metal deck. Unfortunately, like the 14-inch model, the Radius 15 has a black plastic rim surrounding the edge of the laptop. While it's a little less annoying, due to the Radius 15's slightly larger palm rest, the raised lip still has a tendency to bite into your wrist (especially the left one) when you're typing. But it's not all pain for no gain. Toshiba says the lip is there to protect thekeyboard and whatever surface the hybrid is resting on when it's in tablet or presenation mode.
Measuring 14.9 x 9.6 x 0.79 inches and weighing 5 pounds, the Radius 15 is similar in size, although slightly heavier, than Dell's Inspiron 15 7000 2-in-1 (15.04 x 0.94 x 0.78 inches and 4.6 pounds), and just a little bit smaller and thinner than Lenovo's business-minded ThinkPad Yoga 15 (15 x 10 x 0.82 and 5.07 pounds).
Keyboard and Touchpad
The Radius 15 features keys that are a standard 12-mm tall, which is much better than the undersized 10-mm keys we saw on its 14-inch sibling. This made typing on the Radius 15 much faster and more accurate. Even with the somewhat shallow key travel of 1.1 mm and more standard 60-gram actuation weight, I easily hit my typical typing speed of 75 words per minute on 10fastfingers.com. I also liked the useful number pad on the right.
The touchpad measures 4.25 x 2.45 inches and features a smooth, matte surface. Mousing around was responsive and very rarely jumpy, leading to an overall good experience, whether I was navigating around the desktop or using two-finger scrolling to browse the Web.
Display
Even without the superpixel-dense resolution of its 4K sibling, the Radius 15's 15.6-inch 1920 x 1080 display looks bright and sharp enough to make you forget that option even exists. When I watched the trailer for Shanghai, I loved being able to pick out the creamy off-white color of John Cusack's suit, which was contrasted brilliantly by Gong Li's vivid emerald dress.
The Radius 15's screen measured 263 nits of brightness, which is better than the Inspiron 15 7000 2-in-1 (206 nits) and the 250-nit mainstream average, but less than the superb ThinkPad Yoga (299 nits).
Color range was both broad and accurate, as the Radius 15 covered 109 percent of the sRGB spectrum while also earning a Delta-E rating of 0.81 (closer to zero is better). The Dell Inspiron 15 7000 was significantly less colorful, covering just 68.6 percent of the spectrum and was much less accurate, with a Delta-E score of 8.7. The ThinkPad Yoga 15 offered much closer competition with a gamut of 100.7 percent and a Delta-E of 1.6.
Audio
The Radius 15's Harmon Kardon speakers put out an impressive amount of volume for a laptop, but it struggled recreating some mids and many lows. In Kool and the Gang's "Summertime Madness", the deep bass warble was weak and indistinct, which sounded especially poor in contrast to the whine of the rising synth.
Heat
While the Radius 15 P55W managed to stay under our 95-degree comfort threshold on the Laptop Mag Heat Test, it wasn't by much. After streaming HD video from Hulu for 15 minutes, the underside near the vents measured 93 degrees Fahrenheit. Thankfully, the touchpad and space between the G and H keys were more pleasant, registering 81 and 84.5 degrees, respectively.
Ports and Webcam
On the left, there's a lone USB 2.0 port and a combo headphone/mic jack, while the right features an HDMI port, two USB 3.0 ports and a SD card reader. The USB 3.0 port closest to the SD card reader also features Toshiba's Sleep and Charge tech, which allows you to power devices such as a smartphone or tablet, even when the computer is asleep or turned off.
Above the display there's a camera that takes photos and videos at 1280 x 720, but even in our well-lit office, it struggled to take a sharp picture. In a sample shot where I got photobombed by a fellow Laptop Mag writer, the Radius 15's picture was very grainy and looked like it had been run through a mosaic filter in Photoshop.
Performance
Featuring a 2.2-GHz Intel Core i5 5200U CPU, 8GB of RAM and a 750GB HDD, our review configuration of the Radius 15 P55W had plenty of power for everyday computing. Even when stacked up with 20 tabs open in Chrome, the Toshiba had no trouble smoothly streaming a 1080p movie from YouTube.
When we used Geekbench 3 to measure overall system performance, the Radius 15 scored 5,489. That's a bit higher than the $899 Dell Inspiron 15 7000 2-in-1 (5,321) and the $999 Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga 15 (5,136), even though they both sport the same i5-5200U CPU.
MORE: Best 2-in-1s (Laptop/Tablet Hybrids)
In OpenOffice, the Radius 15 matched 20,000 names and addresses in 5 minutes and 42 seconds. That's about the same as the Dell Inspiron 15 7000 2-in-1 (5:47), but a bit slower than the ThinkPad Yoga 15 (5:08).
We measured the speed of the Radius 15's 750GB hard drive at 39.15 MBps, which we determined by duplicating 4.97GB of mixed media files. However, this was much slower than both the Inspiron 15 7000 2-in-1 (130.5 MBps) and the ThinkPad Yoga 15 (103.7 MBps), due to their much speedier solid-state drives.
Graphics
The Radius 15 P55W's integrated Intel HD graphics performed well when tasked with casual gaming or video editing, but it isn't meant to handle anything much more demanding. On 3DMark's Fire Strike graphics test, the Radius 15 scored an even 700. That's better than the 623 put up by the Inspiron 15 7000, but half that of the ThinkPad Yoga 15's 1,477 and its Nvidia GeForce 840M discrete graphics.
Battery Life
The most disappointing aspect of the 1080p Radius 15 P55W is its battery life. With fewer pixels to push than the 4K-equipped Radius 15, I was expecting a significant improvement from that system's terrible runtime of 4 hours and 52 minutes. Instead, the 1080p Radius 15's longevity increased by just 21 minutes, to 5:14 on Laptop Mag's Battery Test (continuous Web surfing over Wi-Fi at 100 nits of brightness). That's worse than the already low mainstream laptop average of 5:37, and considerably shorter than other 15-inch 2-in-1s such as the Dell Inspiron 15 7000 (6:14) and the Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga 15 (8:12).
Configurations
The Radius P55W 15 starts at $650 for an Intel Core i5 5015U CPU, 8GB of RAM and a 1TB HDD, which makes the base model just $150 more and a very attractive alternative to the Radius 14. Our $850 Best Buy exclusive 1080p model sits in the middle of the range with an Intel Core 5200U CPU, 8GB of RAM and an inexplicably smaller 750GB HDD. A fully specced Radius 15 comes in at $1,585 for an Intel Core i7 CPU, 12GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD, and you can read a full review on the model here.
Software and Warranty
The Satellite Radius 15 P55W comes preloaded with Windows 10, which gives you access to new features such as Cortana, Microsoft's digital assistant, and automatic mode switching, which offers a different user interface, depending on where you are in tablet or laptop modes.
You also get a standard one-year warranty and preinstalled software that includes utilities from Toshiba such as PC Health Monitor for maintaining good system health, Service Station and eco Utility for enhanced energy efficiency and third-party apps such as McAfee Live Safe, Spotify and PhotoDirector.
Bottom Line
This 1080p Toshiba Satellite Radius 15 P55W offers plenty of premium features. The brushed-metal exterior is modern and attractive, the speakers are loud and forceful, and even though the screen doesn't provide a 4K resolution, it looks just as bright and colorful as more expensive models.
Unfortunately, the laptop's poor battery life really makes it less portable than I'd like; it's like sitting down at a nice restaurant only to be told you have 10 minutes to eat. If you want a better typing experience and 3 more hours of battery life, consider the Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga 15, which costs about $100 more for a similarly specced system, which also includes an Nvidia 840M GPU. However, if you don't plan to go unplugged for several hours, the Satellite Radius 15 P55W is a strong choice.
Alienware 18 2015 Not Worth the High Cost
Approximately two years have passed since Alienware 18 was released for sale, yet Dell has suddenly brought it back to the forefront with the release of an upgraded Alienware 18 2015 laptop for a limited time only. Alienware is notorious in the gaming industry for having arguably the best gaming laptops in the industry, and many gamers swear by it. Ultimately, it appears as though the updated edition is not worth its high cost.
The 2015 Alienware 18 contains the newest Intel Core i7 4th Gen processor and a quad-core 4940MX that runs at 4.4 GHz when configured to run at the highest speed. As far as the all-important GPU, Dell has given buyers a choice of either dual NVIDIA 980M or NVIDIA 970M dual graphics chips. The available RAM is maxed out at 32 GB DDR3 and can fill as many as four hard drives.
The GPU is often the difference between a good gaming experience or a bad one. The quick specifications of the NVIDIA GeForce 970M are 1280 for Cuda Cores with a base clock of 924 MHz+ boost and HDMI-support. The NVIDIA GeForce 980M operates with a base clock of 1038+boost and the Cuda Cores is 1536. Alienware is known for overheating, so it would probably be wiser to choose the NVIDIA 970M.
When it comes to display, an 1920×1080 18-inch monitor sounds like a rip-off, considering that there are phones that can display 4k, but it still has Full HD 1080p, which is a neat balance between quality and performance. The Alienware laptop also retains the unique, sophisticated design that can easily translate between the office to the gaming arena. Dell describes the Alienware 18 as its most powerful gaming laptop.
The main advantage of the Alienware 18 is that it gives the consumer a great gaming experience. The disadvantages are as they have always been, and make the computer not worth its high cost. The updated Alienware 18 2015 has a hefty price tag of $4,699.90, which is enough to give most people second thoughts.
The specifications and features released by a company may be an accurate representation of a product when it is first purchased, but sometimes the performance of a product may not always be the same. Alienware 18 has had a lot of positive feedback, with consumers saying that they love its performance, albeit the price, but a lot of complaints have been registered as well.
According to some consumers, the gaming laptop overheats, and one consumer mentioned that he was burned by the Alienware 18. Others report that the Microsoft Windows software included on the laptop stopped working a few days after purchase and the recovery disc that accompanied the computer was not functional. One man reported that after purchasing the Alienware 18, it started to reject the adapter after a few days. He details purchasing a new one only to have the same thing happen.
The Alienware 18 is one of the best gaming laptops in the world, and there are bound to be defective products in any mass release. It seems the greater issue is that Dell has very poor customer service, and customers who find themselves with faulty laptops report that the service they receive from the company is often poor.
When purchasing anything from a company, especially at such a high price, it is wise to read consumer reviews from legitimate sites in order to avoid a potentially nasty shock. All things considered, the performance level of the Alienware 18 2015 is a three out of five. It is a good, but expensive, purchase for gaming as long as customer service by Dell is not necessary. However, many other gaming laptops with a 4k display perform just as well, and could be purchased for a lower price, making the newest Dell offering not worth the high cost.
Review by Tanatswa Taruvinga
HP elitebook review
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HP Announces New EliteBook Business Notebooks PCs with AMD PRO A-Series APUs
by Brett Howse on September 29, 2015 11:00 PM EST
HP’s Elite lineup is targeted towards business and professional users, and today HP is announcing a big refresh of the lineup. One interesting twist is that HP has partnered with AMD on these devices, and will be utilizing AMD PRO A-Series processors in both their desktops and notebooks. In addition to the other features of Carrizo such as HEVC decoding, the PRO lineup is AMD’s take on Intel’s vPro technology and should fit in well with HP’s goals with these machines.
There are three new notebook models with 12.5-inch, 14-inch, and 15-inch display sizes. The MIL-Spec tested notebooks will be offered with a wide range of options, but will be powered by the AMD A12, A10, or A8 APU models and 16 GB of memory. HP will be offering accessories like fingerprint readers and LTE as well. They also offer HP’s Sure Start BIOS which will automatically correct the BIOS if it finds there is an issue – whether malicious or not. HP will also be offering a choice of operating system from Windows 10 to Windows 7, and FreeDOS 2.0 as well. The displays are all SVA panels, with (unfortunately) 1366x768 as the base option on all three laptops, with 1920x1080 optional, or the 14-inch model can also be had with 2560x1440. On the networking side, HP has gone with Broadcom for Wi-Fi, and Qualcomm’s X5 LTE model is optional.
| HP EliteBook | |||
| EliteBook 725 G3 | EliteBook 745 G3 | EliteBook 755 G3 | |
| APU | AMD PRO A12-8800B 2.1-3.4 GHz quad-core R7 GPU AMD PRO A10-8700B 1.8-3.2 GHz quad-core R6 GPU AMD PRO A8-8600B 1.6-3.0 GHz quad-core R6 GPU |
||
| Memory | 16GB DDR3L | ||
| Display | 12.5" 1366-768 SVA 1920x1080 optional Touch optional on 1080p |
14.0" 1366-768 SVA 1920x1080 and 2560x1440 optional Touch optional on 1080p |
15.6" 1366-768 SVA 1920x1080 optional Touch optional on 1080p |
| Storage | 180-240 GB M.2 SSD 500GB-1TB SATA HDD |
128-512 GB M.2 SSD up to 256 GB M.2 PCIe SSD 500GB-1TB SATA HDD |
128-512 GB M.2 SSD up to 256 GB M.2 PCIe SSD 500GB-1TB SATA HDD |
| I/O | 1 x USB Type-C 1 x DisplayPort 1 x VGA 2 x USB 3.0 SDXC RJ-45 Docking Connector |
||
| Dimensions | (mm) : 311 x 219 x 18.9 (inches) : 12.2 x 8.6 x 0.74 |
(mm) : 338 x 237 x 18.9 (inches) : 13.3 x 9.3 x 0.74 |
(mm) : 383 x 258 x 19.4 (inches) : 15.1 x 10.1 x 0.76 |
| Weight | 1.26 kg / 2.78 lbs | 1.54 kg / 3.41 lbs | 1.88 kg / 4.15 lbs |
| Battery | 44 Wh | 46 Wh | 46 Wh |
| Price | $749+ | ||
The notebooks have a nice magnesium chassis with a bit more flash than your traditional business PC. HP also includes spill-resistant keyboards, docking connectors, and RJ-45 on all models, and yes, even a VGA port which seems like it can’t ever go away.
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