Find the perfect gift for everyone
(Nov 23, 2009)
Dan Ackerman
Senior Editor
Mainstream used to mean the standard, 15.4-inch laptops everyone lugged around in backbreaking shoulder bags before ultraportable systems became popular. For general household computing, both 15- and 14-inch laptops will work fine, but we're seeing more people turning towards 13-inch and smaller laptops for travel, and larger desktop replacements for home use.
Apple MacBook Pro Summer 2009 (Core 2 Duo 2.8GHz, 4GB RAM, 500GB HDD, NVIDIA GeForce 9400M + 9600M GT with 512MB, 15-inch)
Apple's 15-inch MacBook Pro makes only minor tweaks to the previous version, but cutting prices and swapping the ExpressCard slot for an SD card slot are enough to make it a solid improvement over its predecessor.
Price: $2,114.98 - $2,299.00 (check prices)
Review date: Jun 11, 2009
Excellent
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Alienware M15x (Intel Core i7 720QM, 250GB HDD, 3GB)
Alienware's big and bulky 15-inch M15x pulls out most of the stops, thanks to a superpowered CPU.
Price: $1,499.00 - $1,849.99 (check prices)
Review date: Nov 13, 2009
Excellent
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Toshiba Satellite E105-S1802
As a general purpose productivity machine, the Toshiba Satellite E105-S1802 strikes a number of right notes. Its dreadful speakers, however, limit its entertainment value
Price: $799.99 (check prices)
Review date: Nov 16, 2009
Very good
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Sony Vaio NW160J
HP's new Envy 15 packs high-powered components into a svelte 15-inch body. The result is an upscale status symbol that still shows a few first-generation rough edges.
Price: $1,899.90 - $1,924.99 (check prices)
Review date: Nov 19, 2009
Very good
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Toshiba Satellite A505-S6980
Good design and some really nice-sounding speakers round out the Toshiba Satellite A505-S6980, a very affordable mainstream laptop with excellent battery life for its size.
Price: $629.99 (check prices)
Review date: Nov 4, 2009
Very good
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