While the rest of the world goes ga-ga for netbooks like the Asus Eee PC and the Samsung NC10, there are many people out there who are left scratching their heads.
What if you need a cheap notebook, but you need a full sized screen to show off your business' PowerPoint presentation? And what if you can't afford a full-specified laptop, but your hands can't cope with the fiddly keys on a netbook?
Fear not, because even though they don't get much press, there are plenty of full-sized budget notebooks out there – many of which are actually cheaper than your average netbook.
Here are four affordable, full featured entry-level machines that'll do you proud.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HP 550 - £299
HP's 550 offers similar usability and quality to the company's more expensive laptops. As with the Asus X58C and Toshiba Satellite Pro L300, it also features budget components and a simple design in order to keep the price down.
The 15.4-inch screen is the best in this group, featuring bright and vivid colours. It's great for watching movies or editing photographs on. As with all Super-TFT panels, however, fingerprints and reflections show up in sunny conditions.
The Intel GMA X3100 graphics card is a previous-generation model. It offers enough performance for basic office use and watching DVDs, but, as with the other laptops here, lacks gaming power.
One of the most impressive aspects of this machine is that it doesn't appear to have been built to a low price point.
The grey styling is uninspiring, but the materials used would shame laptops costing £200 more, with strong durable plastics used for both the chassis and the display.
Although the hinges look slender and rather fragile, they manage to hold the display firmly in place at all times. Read our full review of the HP 550
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Toshiba Satellite Pro L300-1AD - £299
Toshiba has made a name for itself by producing an impressive range of machines to match almost any budget.
The Satellite Pro L300-1AD is an affordable option aimed at the corporate user.
In keeping with its professional aspirations, you'll find quality materials that are more than capable of withstanding the daily commute.
The plastics are hardwearing, and it offers similar quality to the HP 550 and Asus X58C. We also found it remained cool to the touch after long periods of use. At 2.6kg, it's light enough to carry around without trouble.
The 15.4-inch screen come close to matching the HP 550, offering crisp, colourful images. Contrast is impressive, and there's enough space to work with several windows open at the same time.Read the full Toshiba Satellite Pro L300-1AD review
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Asus X58C – £269
Asus is better known for its more expensive laptops, but its X range targets the entry-level user.
The Asus X58C sports a 15.4-inch Super-TFT screen, DVD rewriter optical drive and sufficient power for basic tasks.
The design is simple. It's a black plastic box with little or no ornamentation, but Asus has added a hint of style with a checker design to the lid and palm rests, which certainly lifts it above the ordinary.
The build quality is good for the price and we found it a solid machine to use. Weighing 2.8kg, there is a degree of portability, but our tests returned a battery life of 140 minutes, making this machine less than ideal for mobile use.
We found the system stayed cool to the touch, even after long periods of use and remained relatively quiet throughout.
The screen is bright and offers a standard resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels. Graphics are handled by the SiS Mirage 3 chipset, which is fine for running basic DVD movies, but you won't be able to use it for gaming or editing video as it simply lacks such capabilities.
The keyboard is pushed to the back of the main board and while the keys are near full-sized, they initially feel a little close together. That said, they are firmly mounted to the main board and have a reasonable keystroke. The touchpad is rather small, but the mouse buttons are of a good size and responded well. Read our full review of the Asus X58C
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Acer eMachines E520-571G16Mi - £299
The eMachines brand is Acer's entry-level range, offering similar styling to its Aspire laptops, but using cheaper materials and components.
As such, the £299 eMachines E520-571G16Mi may look familiar to existing Acer owners, but is a truly affordable option.
As with the other machines in this group, you'll find a 15.4-inch Super-TFT display. It's bright enough to use in most conditions, although it does suffer from reflections in direct sunlight.
Although most colours are reproduced faithfully, blacks appear a little washed out. Crisp image quality makes it fine for everyday use, however.
Graphics are handled by an integrated Intel GPU– the same solution found in the Toshiba. You won't be able to play the latest games, but it does offer smoother performance than the Asus and HP when watching movies and editing photographs.
The design of the chassis puts function firmly ahead of form, with plain dark-grey plastics used throughout. That said, it provides sturdy build quality and you won't have any trouble using it daily. Read our full review of the Acer eMachines E520-571G16Mi
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You might also like: 7 touchscreen phones to look out for in 2009
Sign up for the free weekly TechRadar newsletter
Get tech news delivered straight to your inbox. Register for the free TechRadar newsletter and stay on top of the week's biggest stories and product releases. Sign up at http://www.techradar.com/register
Tell us what you think
You need to Log in or register to post comments