Don't Miss

CNET Reviews - Most Popular Laptops

Rank Most Popular Titles
1 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.
2 HP Mini 311
HP's Mini 311 adds a larger, high-definition display and advanced graphics to a basic Netbook, while keeping the price very appealing. Once it starts shipping with Windows 7, this could become our favorite Netbook.
3 Asus Eee PC 1005HA (Intel Atom N280 1.66GHz, 1GB RAM, 160GB HDD, XP Home, blue)
Asus hits nearly all the marks in the 1005HA, the latest version of its iconic Eee PC, highlighted by a 6-hour-plus battery life.
4 Sony Vaio X (VPC-X115KX/N Signature Collection, gold)
Sony's bold experiment--a high-end luxury system with essentially Netbook components--makes an enviable coffee shop conversation piece, but one that includes some serious sticker shock.
5 Apple MacBook Pro Summer 2009 (Core 2 Duo 2.26GHz, 2GB RAM, 160GB HDD, Nvidia GeForce 9400M, 13-inch)
Previously known as the MacBook, Apple's basic 13-inch aluminum unibody laptop has been promoted to the "Pro" series, all while adding features and cutting the base price.
6 Toshiba Satellite T135-S1310 (red)
Toshiba's slick entry into the thin-and-light laptop world is timed for Windows 7, but if you're going to get one, make sure it's the dual-core T135-S1310, and not its single-core cousin.
7 Gateway NV5207u
The Gateway NV5207u is certainly above average for the money, but its processor is a dog.
8 Dell Inspiron Mini 10v Netbook Computer (Intel Atom N270, 120GB HDD, 1GB)
Dell's Mini 10v keeps a lot of the features of the more expensive Mini 10, while dropping the price below $300. It's one of only a handful of $299 Netbooks that doesn't look and feel especially cheap.
9 Asus UL30A-A1 (Core 2 Duo Su7300 1.3GHz, 4GB RAM, 500GB HDD, Vista Home Premium)
If you're in the market for an affordable thin-and-light, the Asus UL30A-A1 provides great value and a solid Core 2 Duo CULV processor in an attractive package.
10 Dell Inspiron Mini 10 Netbook
Dell's popular Mini 10 is the most customizable Netbook we've seen. Adding extras such as a higher-resolution display makes it more useful, but also blurs the price line between Netbooks and mainstream laptops.
11 Gateway P-7805u FX Edition
Our favorite budget gaming laptop returns as the Gateway P-7805u FX, and while it's still the best deal going in mobile gaming, we're bummed the screen resolution has been dumbed down to sub-HD levels.
12 Asus K50IJ-RX05
As long as you won't need more than what it already has, the budget-friendly Asus K50IJ-RX05 is money well spent.
13 Toshiba Satellite L455-S5975
While it's hard to argue with a $330 laptop, the old-fashioned-looking L455-S5975 cuts some serious corners to get you a package that will suit only basic users.
14 Samsung N120 (black)
Part of Samsung's second generation of Netbooks, the N120 offers a generous keyboard and some unexpected audio power.
15 HP Mini 5101 (Intel Atom N280 1.66GHz, 1GB RAM, 160GB HDD, XP Home Basic)
HP's biz-minded Mini 5101 is a successor to the Mini 2140 (one of our all-time favorite Netbooks). It looks and feels great, but for a premium-price Netbook, we expect to get more features, not fewer.
16 HP Mini 110
While the new, less expensive, HP Mini 110 doesn't stray far from the Mini 1000 mold, there are some subtle changes--not always for the best.
17 Apple MacBook Fall 2009 (Core 2 Duo 2.26GHz, 2GB RAM, 250GB HDD, Nvidia GeForce 9400M)
Apple's latest version of the popular $999 white MacBook gets an upscale makeover, while keeping the price the same. It's a strong alternative to the more expensive Pro line, if you can live without extras such as an SD card slot.
18 HP Envy 13
HP's upscale Envy 13 looks and feels like an expensive status symbol, with performance and features that impress us--but its high price makes it a tough sell over the similar-looking MacBook Pro.
19 Toshiba Satellite E105-S1602
Toshiba improves on last year's excellent Best Buy Blue Label laptop by slashing the price while serving up a nearly identical machine. Long battery life, a lengthy warranty, and a backlit keyboard highlight Toshiba's winning Satellite E105-S1602.
20 Dell Inspiron 15
As a highly configurable budget-range black box, Dell's Inspiron 1545 laptop line can be a good value--as long as you don't pile on the upgrades.
21 Lenovo ThinkPad SL510
Lenovo's Windows 7 upgrade to the ThinkPad SL500 keeps the price affordable, and features a consumer-friendly 16:9 display.
22 MSI X340 (black)
MSI's superslim X340 offers the slick look of a MacBook Air or Dell Adamo, but cast in plastic for about half the price.
23 Toshiba Qosmio X505-Q850
Toshiba revives its Qosmio gaming line with the high-end X505. It has everything from Blu-ray to an Intel Core i7 CPU, but it also carries a premium price.
24 Asus Eee PC 1008HA
Asus reinvents its iconic Netbook with the slim, attractive Eee PC 1008HA, a bold experiment that largely works.
25 Samsung Go N310 (sunset orange)
Samsung brings a different look to a generic Netbook build with the N310, but is there any good reason this costs almost $500?