The promise of Blu-ray action and discrete
graphics for under $900 makes this a bargain
All
round machine that performs brilliantly and looks great
This latest Sony VAIO E Series ticks a lot
of important boxes as a jack of all trades, sporting dual-core Intel Core i5
power, 8GB of RAM, plenty of storage space and a Blu-ray drive.
Connectivity is a strong point, with speedy
USB 3.0 port sitting alongside a duo of USB 2.0 options and HDMI output. At the
price-point that we've selected you get a healthy 500GB of hard drive storage,
discrete graphics from AMD and a battery that Sony promises is capable of
lasting for up to four hours.
This being Sony you can, of course,
configure to your heart's content and even the base model (dual-core Pentium,
DVD, 4GB of RAM and integrated graphics) should perform amicably.
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Details
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Price: $899
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Website: www.sony.com
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Screen: 15.5 in
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Weight: 2.7kg
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Battery: 210 mins
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Packard Bell EasyNote TV
The EasyNote TV won't win any prizes for
design or technological innovation but we can guarantee it's an ample performer
that will allow you to tackle your daily digital tasks with little fuss.
A 500GB HDD is generously priced and
excellent connectivity options make up for outdated processing power.
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Details
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Price: $599
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Screen: 15.6in
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Weight: 2.5kg
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Battery: 162 mins
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Toshiba Qosmio X870 - Big-screen beauty
Monster laptop with impressive gaming
credentials and a nifty 3D display to boot
Multimedia
powerhouse that's much more than a gaming PC
You don't need to be a serious gamer in
order to fully appreciate the impressive specification sheet of the latest
big-hitting Qosmio. Toshiba has created a monster laptop that fully lives up to
the tag of desktop replacement.
The 17.3-inch, Full HD, 3D display is
perfect not only for high-octane gaming, but also for watching Blu-ray movies
or editing your high- resolution images. On the media front it also helps that
there's a stereo speaker setup from audio expert Harman Kardon on board.
Storing your digital data shouldn't prove tricky
either as there's a whopping 1TB of hard drive space on offer, along with a
128GB SSD drive for super-fast boot up times and extra-quick access to those
essential files.
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Details
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Price: $2,205
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Screen: 17.3 in
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Weight: 3.4kg
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Battery: 41 mins
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Samsung Series 5 550P
The latest quad-core Intel Core power, a
vivid 1080p display, impressive audio, through the JBL stereo speaker and Max
Boost subwoofer setup, and Nvidia graphic processing makes this one of the best
pound for pound laptops we've seen.
It looks pretty swish as well and the
isolated keyboard is as good as we've laid our mitts on.
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Details
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Price: $1,005
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Website: www.amazon.com
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Screen: 17.3in
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Weight: 3 kg
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Battery: 195 mins
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Sony VAIO Duo 11 - Thin and Light
Unrivalled slimline design and touchscreen
display that packs seriously powerful performance
As
brilliant as mobile computing gets at the moment
Windows 8 gives PC manufacturers a lot more
flexibility when it comes to design, thanks to the platform's multiple
navigation features, and in no other device is this demonstrated more
impressively than the VAIO Duo 11.
Part tablet, part Ultrabook and part
powerful PC, the Duo 11 boasts an intuitive sliding build, dubbed the Surf
Slider. This allows the slimline stunner to be operated just like a traditional
notebook, as well as easily being used as a touchscreen tablet.
Packing the latest Intel Core processing
power, up to 8GB of RAM, a 256GB SSD and a Full FID display panel, the Duo 11
is anything but a novelty and is as jaw-droppingly brilliant as mobile
computing gets.
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Details
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Price: $1,499
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Website: www.sony.com
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Screen: 11.6in touch
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Weight: 1.3 kg
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Battery: 210 mins
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HP Envy 6
It may not be the thinnest or lightest
Ultrabook in town but, at 20mm thick and weighing just over 2kg, the Envy 6 is
hardly likely to cause your back too much trouble when carrying it about.
And at a price tag around half of the original
HP Ultrabook, and packed with 2012's best technology, it's excellent value for
money.
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Details
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Price: $749
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Screen: 15.6in
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Weight: 2.1 kg
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Battery: 251 mins
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Dell XPS 15 - Have it all
An incredible setup fit to take on any task
- and it looks very cool too
It's
a machine that packs in a wealth of top-end technology
The XPS 15 is a fantastic laptop that will smash
through your digital demands with ease. It will make mincemeat of your FID
movies, handle casual gaming with aplomb and perform without a stutter on more
challenging assignments, such as video or high-quality picture editing.
It's a machine that packs in a wealth of
top-end technology - an Intel Core i7 CPU, an Nvidia GeForce GT 640M GPU and
ample storage - inside a body that oozes style. We're not sure what's cooler:
the brushed silver exterior or the soft rubberised interior.
At 23.2mm thick and weighing 2.6kg, this
laptop's portable enough to carry around and the plethora of port activity
won’t leave you wanting either.
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Details
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Price:
$2,669
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Website: www.amazon.com
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Screen: 15.6in
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Weight: 2.6 kg
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Battery: 195 mins
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Lenovo G570
It may be lacking a third-generation Intel
processor but don't let that put you off. For under $750, a dual-core CPU -
albeit slightly dated - isn't to be scoffed at. The healthy Battery RAM, large hard
drive and discrete AMD graphics mean you can have a machine that does the lot.
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Details
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Price: $749
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Website: www.amazon.com
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Screen: 15.6in
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Weight: 2.5 kg
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Battery: 156 mins
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