Less than $1,000 - CNET reviews

Editors' Top Laptops
updated May 17, 2006

These days, cheap doesn't necessarily mean low quality. In fact, many manufacturers are stocking their less expensive laptops with perfectly good midrange components that deliver more than enough power to surf the Web, keep up with e-mail, or even watch a movie. Sure, these models may not ace our mobile performance benchmarks, have all the latest features, or offer long-lasting battery life, but they're good enough for the average student's or home user's basic computing. Check out some of our favorite laptops that cost less than $1,000.

-- Michelle Thatcher, associate editor

For home: Desktop replacements | Thin-and-light laptops | Midsize laptops | Gaming laptops | Less than $1,000

Less than $1,000

Laptops	Editors' rating	Price	Summary
Apple iBook G4 (12-inch) Released: 07/26/2005	7.0 Very good	Email me when product is available	Though it's less powerful than the PowerBook, the reasonably priced 12-inch iBook G4 has a well-designed case, long battery life, and great software, which make it a good choice for anyone seeking a solid entry-level laptop. Specs: Motorola PowerPC G4 (1.33 GHz) , 1.33 GHz, 512 MB DDR SDRAM , 4.9 lbs, 12.1 in TFT active matrix , EPA Energy Star , Apple MacOS X 10.4

Lenovo ThinkPad R52 1859 (Pentium M 740 1.73 GHz, 256 MB RAM, 40 GB HDD) Released: 03/02/2005	6.2 Good	Email me when product is available	Businesses seeking a sturdy, secure, portable workhorse should consider the IBM ThinkPad R52. Specs: Intel Pentium M (1.73 GHz) , 1.73 GHz, 256 MB DDR2 SDRAM , 6.2 lbs, 14.1 in TFT active matrix , EPA Energy Star , Microsoft Windows XP Professional

Gateway NX500X Released: 03/31/2005	5.9 Average	Email me when product is available	Gateway's affordable NX500X proves that you don't have to spend an exorbitant amount of money to get a respectably configured notebook. Specs: Intel Pentium M (1.7 GHz) , 1.7 GHz, 512 MB DDR SDRAM , 6.1 lbs, 15.4 in TFT active matrix , Microsoft Windows XP Home SP 2