Samsung Series 9 NP900X3A (13-inch)

ntSamsung Series 9 NP900X3A (13-inch)

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ntRating 8.2. Price $1,649 The $1,649 Samsung Series 9 NP900X3A certainly won’t be for every wallet, but this light, well-featured, and striking 13-incher is the closest the Windows world will ever come to a MacBook Air. However, its higher-than-the-Air price might be hard to stomach. Read reviews.

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Acer Aspire Ethos AS8951G

ntAcer Aspire Ethos AS8951G

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ntRating 7.6. Price $1,599 The 18-inch Acer Aspire Ethos AS8951G is a huge multimedia powerhouse laptop with a unique removable touch-pad remote control. It’s a clever idea, but one that might be ahead of its time. Read reviews.

Apple MacBook Air (13-inch, Summer 2011)

ntApple MacBook Air (13-inch, Summer 2011)

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ntRating 9.3. Price $1,299 The latest version of the 13-inch MacBook Air vastly outperforms its predecessor, and can finally be called suitable for mainstream use, instead of relegated as a niche product. Read reviews.

Apple MacBook Pro Winter 2011 (2.3GHz Core i5, 13-inch)

ntApple MacBook Pro Winter 2011 (2.3GHz Core i5, 13-inch)

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ntRating 8.4. Price $1,199 The new entry-level $1,199 13-inch MacBook Pro’s significant CPU updates and fantastic battery life are nearly as good as what you get in the more expensive $1,499 version. Read reviews.

Alienware M11x (spring 2011)

ntAlienware M11x (spring 2011)

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ntRating 8.2. Price, 1,099 Don’t be fooled by its unchanged looks: the 2011 Alienware M11x makes big leaps forward in performance, graphics, and battery life, while keeping a reasonable price. Anyone looking for a portable gaming-ready laptop will have a hard time resisting the urge to pick one of these up. Read reviews.

Apple MacBook Air (11-inch, Summer 2011)

ntApple MacBook Air (11-inch, Summer 2011)

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ntRating 9.3. Price $999 This year’s 11-inch MacBook Air improves on last year’s model in several significant ways and is by far the fastest ultraportable you’re likely to find, though some users will consider the limited flash storage space to be a hindrance. Read reviews.

HP Envy 14 (Summer 2011)

ntHP Envy 14 (Summer 2011)

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ntRating 7.9. Price $999 A much-needed update to its internal components makes HP’s Envy 14 one of the best high-end laptops for those looking for a PC with the flair of a MacBook. Read reviews.

Toshiba Satellite E305-S1990

ntToshiba Satellite E305-S1990

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ntRating 8.2. Price $999 The Best Buy-exclusive Toshiba Satellite E305-S1990X is a heck of a 14-inch laptop, offering a rock-solid combination of specs and design for a reasonable price. Read reviews.

HP Pavilion dv6t-6000, $849

ntHP Pavilion dv6t-6000

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ntRating 7.5 Price $849 The HP Pavilion dv6t is a solid improvement on HP’s previous 15-inch mainstream consumer laptop with numerous tweaks, bells, and whistles, but the wide variety of options means you’ll get wildly different systems based on what you can afford. Read reviews.

Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E220s

ntLenovo ThinkPad Edge E220s

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ntRating 8.4. Price $819 Balancing between ultraportable and full-size laptop, the 12-inch ThinkPad Edge E220s offers an exceedingly compact computing experience matched by an upscale design, marred only by subpar battery life. Read reviews.

Toshiba Portege R835-P56X

ntToshiba Portege R835-P56X

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ntRating 8.7 Price $799 With three more hours of battery life over last year’s model, Toshiba’s new R800 series of Portege laptops are hard to beat, even in the highly competitive 13-inch laptop category. Read reviews.

Sony Vaio EB Series VPC-EB44FX/WI,

ntSony Vaio EB Series VPC-EB44FX/WI

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ntRating 7.0. Price $799 Sony’s Vaio line of laptops, including the midpriced EB series, look great and include some high-end features–we just wish the CPU had been updated for the sake of better battery life. Read reviews.

Acer Aspire TimelineX AS3830TG-6431

ntAcer Aspire TimelineX AS3830TG-6431

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ntRating 8.0 Price $779 The aggressively priced Acer Aspire TimelineX 3830TG-6431’s combination of gaming-ready graphics and a fast processor in a 13-inch body offers a great punch for a good price, provided you can live without a DVD drive. Read reviews.

Dell Inspiron 15R

ntDell Inspiron 15R

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ntRating 7.6. Price $679 Dell’s Inspiron 15R is an attractively priced budget consumer laptop with a welcome set of up-to-date features and design options, but beware of the cost of customizations. Read reviews.

Toshiba Satellite L655-S5161

ntToshiba Satellite L655-S5161

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ntRating 6.4 Price $619 Though not particularly inspiring, the basic 15-inch Toshiba Satellite L655 has a current-gen CPU and can be found for around $600, making it a worthwhile budget choice. Read reviews.

Gateway NV51B05u

ntGateway NV51B05u

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ntRating 6.0. Price $469 Taking a CPU intended for an 11-inch ultraportable and sticking it in a midsize system can potentially be a recipe for disaster. Gateway’s 15-inch AMD Fusion-based NV51B05u avoids any major problems, but it could be better. Read reviews.

HP Pavilion dm1z

ntHP Pavilion dm1z

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ntRating 7.7. Price $450 The first laptop to offer AMD’s power-efficient Fusion platform delivers on much of its promise, combining great battery life, decent performance, and basic graphics for less than $500. Read reviews.

Asus Eee PC 1215B

ntAsus Eee PC 1215B

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ntRating 7.7. Price $449 Asus updates the Eee PC line with AMD’s excellent ultraportable CPU, making for a powerful, portable package, but the field is getting crowded in this category. Read reviews.

Acer Aspire One 722-BZ608

ntAcer Aspire One 722-BZ608

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ntRating 8.1. Price $397 The Acer Aspire One 722-BZ608 is a budget-priced 11-inch laptop that’s more powerful than a Netbook, but not as fast as some higher-priced 11-inch alternatives. Better options are out there for a little more money. Read reviews.