There are quite a lot of laptop computer brands currently in the market. This includes in no particular order: Dell, Lenovo, MSI, ASUS, Fujitsu, Toshiba, Apple, Acer, HP, Sony (Vaio) and Samsung.
As a computer hardware reviewer I have thankfully had the chance to take many of the different laptop models made for each of the various laptop brands above for a spin and a testdrive. Many of them fall under specific categories and are very good at what they do. If you were to base your choices on these categories then they would fall under the following.
Lifestyle
The lifestyle laptop user is the kind who wants a laptop that is trendy, looks super stylish and makes heads turn. Great design or superb ease of use is the main focus for this user with many of the laptops in this category costing a bit more than your average laptop. The best laptop brands for this category would then have to be Apple laptops and Sony’s Vaio range of laptops. Both are super stylish and I find that they focus more on either excellent design or the laptop as a trendy fashion statement rather than an actual computing device. Prime examples of this would be Apple’s latest Macbook Air which continues to retain its position as the most stylish of ultra-slim laptops currently in the market.
Custom Service, general purpose
For many people, having someone on the line 24/7 to tell them how to deal with their new laptop is much more important than other reasons such as performance. The best laptop for this category would have to be Dell with their truly widespread and very accessible online infrastructure. While there are performance Dell laptops in their lineup, the main focus for most of the Dell laptops is a general purpose type of performance that you can customize as you see fit. I’ve found many friends and family who have been very much satisfied with their Dell laptops and willingly look into getting another Dell laptop after the 3 to 5 years it takes for their current one to slow down.
Value
While their service infrastructure is no where near as good as Dell’s, Acer is still the king of value laptops mainly in that they have an extensive range of laptops for every type user at really low price points. Unfortunately, the toss-up in all this is that getting a quality Acer laptop is just like a lucky draw. Sometimes you get lucky and get one that lasts for years and years. Sometimes you get unlucky too and end up with a laptop that you’ve used sparingly for the past three months only to discover that it’s battery now won’t keep a charge and was acquired under a deal with no warranty past two months. I’m not saying that there aren’t a few gems in the Acer brand’s range of laptops, its just that finding them are like finding diamonds in the rough. However, if you’re on a budget and are not picky, then Acer should be a good laptop brand for you.
MSI is also getting to be more well-known for their value range of laptops as well, but are a bit pricier than Acer. However, in my experience their range of laptops is also a bit better in terms of quality although performance-wise they are still either general purpose or more or less on the same footing as Acer.
When talking about business-class laptops, the focus is always more on reliability, quality and security. The best business-class laptop brand in my opinion has to be Lenovo. While they won’t knock anyone’s socks off in terms of performance they will last and last and then some. I myself have a Lenovo IBM Thinkpad which has lasted through whatever stuff I wanted to try out, including acting as a server for the entire office, running programming coding, traveling overseas and much more. The fact that it also had a fingerprint sensor for extra security is also a big plus but mainly for people with sensitive information on their laptops. While there are a few rather nicely priced Lenovo laptops in the entry-level market, most of them are priced a bit more than your average general purpose laptop.
HP is also a good business-class laptop, with a solid range of laptops. However, recent events (such as the ding-dong process of deciding whether their laptop side of the business would be sold off or not) have made it a bit unstable in terms of quality. Some users have reported a drop in HP laptop quality but in general, most HP laptops are good for business-class purposes.Toshiba is another good business-class laptop but I have found that their laptops to be a bit more generic than your average business-class laptop. Fujitsu laptops used to be the cream of the crop (and were priced as such too!) but have lately fallen due to similar reasons as HP. They are now currently clawing their way back up with some very good business-class laptops aimed at the small 12-inch laptop model with better than average performance.
ASUS are currently the kings in this category as their Eee brand of netbooks will outlast and outperform any other netbook in their class while their gaming laptops will definitely knock your socks off. This is because recently they made a declaration that they would shift their focus from their component industries (motherboards, graphic cards, etc.) and target their laptops. Considering that ASUS is still considered the market leader in these component hardware industries, this was a big declaration and this resolve shows in their laptops. I have found very little wanting in terms of their performance machines as they play games in stereoscopic 3D while providing professional-class laptops that can handle such hardware intensive tasks as 3D rendering and program compiling with ease. Their laptop prices have also been very competitive compared to some other value laptop brands such as Acer.
Dell’s Alienware is a surprise contender in the performance range but they offer a solid range of laptops designed for playing games and for the more performance-oriented user. As expected of such machines, the price is also quite high and their battery life is not very long either. However, they should be more than enough to handle a gaming session or two unplugged.
All-rounder Underdog
As a the newest player in the market Samsung is offering great deals for good performance machines with good designs. I have found many Samsung laptops and netbooks that look great and outperform their competitors but aren’t bought mainly because most people are not confident about their history or brand in the laptop business. As such many of these great performing Samsung laptops are priced below average and should make good laptops for those looking to give them a chance.
Best overall laptop brand
Forgive me if I’m a performance biased computer hardware guy but I would still have to say that ASUS is the best brand of laptop in the market. Despite many of their laptops outperforming other brands they also look good, play hard and are priced very competitively. They have a relatively long history in the laptop business and are definitely at the top of my consideration list for the next laptop I am going to get for myself. For that reason alone I think that they should be on your consideration list as well, or at least in the top 3 or 5.
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