4. Samsung Series 3 Chromebook - £230/US$330 (around AU$350)
Cheaper than some tablets, the Samsung Chromebook doesn't run a typical operating system such as Windows, OS X or even Linux. Instead, it is designed just to run Google Chrome, the web browser, and related web apps.
If you think you could do all your computing using Google web apps, you could well benefit from the good battery life, silent operation, light weight and portability, simplicity and implicit security of the Chromebook, not to mention its low price. However, with no 3G connectivity, it is pretty much limited to use only in Wi-Fi areas.
Read our Samsung Series 3 Chromebook review
5. Lenovo IdeaPad S405 - £350/AU$695/US$400
The Lenovo IdeaPad S405 is an attractive laptop that has Ultrabook looks at a rock-bottom price tag. It doesn't offer a huge battery life, so is best around the home instead of out and about, but it's lightweight and smart, making it a great option as a secondary machine. It will happily perform most tasks with ease, such as browsing the web or watching HD movies, although full-on gaming is out of the question. As a bonus, it boots up nice and quickly too. There's even a good array of ports, and the build quality is impressive for the price.
Read our Lenovo S405 review
6. Asus VivoBook S200 - £450 (around AU$685/US$715)
The Asus VivoBook S200 offers supreme good looks, touchscreen operation, slick performance and excellent portability, all for a reasonable price.
This laptop runs on an Intel Core i3-3217U processor, which means it provides more than enough grunt to power Windows 8 through any day-to-day tasks, while keeping power consumption to a minimum.
Read our Asus VivoBook S200 review
7. HP Envy Sleekbook 6-1126sa - £500 (around AU$760/US$780)
The HP Envy Sleekbook 6-1126sa is a system that anyone looking to buy a budget laptop should check out. Its large screen and decent audio subsystem make it great for enjoying music and movies, while the comfortable keyboard and strong battery life make it a joy to use for everyday tasks. It also looks far more expensive than it is, and offers decent specs for its price too. It's not quite up there in terms of raw power, but in almost every other respect, this is a very tempting machine.
Read our HP Envy Sleekbook 6-1126sa review
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