Best laptops available today

Potent portables

Portable Laptop

The laptop can be the most used gadget in a person’s tech repertoire. This article for example, is being written on one. There is never a dull moment with a decent laptop. But we aren’t interested in decent, we want the greatest.

This article is all about the Luke Skywalkers of the laptop world. This hardware is the latest and greatest that Cool-Technology has come across. We will be updating this list as soon as something better comes along. The rules are simply that we have to have seen them, either in a review, waiting to be reviewed or as a hands-on.

Best tablet/laptop combo

Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga
Windows 8 ushered in the age of the weird laptop design. Decent touch capabilities mean that laptops like the Lenovo Yoga have come into existence. Don’t confuse its backflipping and shape-shifting with a weird gimmick though, as it is genuinely helpful.

Lenovo IdeaPad

The Yoga can be flipped over so it is just a large 13-inch tablet, or the keyboard can be used to make it stand. It can also be used just as a standard laptop would be, but with the added bonus of a touch screen. Throw in a nice selection of colors to choose from and you have a handy, if unusual, laptop package.

Best laptop when out and about

11-inch MacBook Air
The 11-inch MacBook Air weighs 1.08Kg. For a laptop that weighs about the same as a bag of sugar, this is a fully functioning machine. You get all the bells and whistles Mac OS X offers and thanks to Intel’s increasing portable and powerful processors, enough grunt to get through the working day.

MacBoom Air

The 11-inch MacBook Air went down an absolute storm at the Cool-Technology offices. This was in part due to just how sturdily put together it is, a big bonus if you are planning on lugging one around in a backpack or briefcase. Really though, Apple has been putting polish on this formula for a while now and as a portable, we find it tough to fault.

Best laptop for gaming

Alienware M17x R4
Nvidia’s mobile graphics cards are now so powerful that the right machine can rival the kind of gaming power a desktop manages. The Alienware is that machine. Specced out with a GTX 680m, you will not find any problems trying to run anything currently available maxed out.

Alienware M17xR4

The M17’s build quality is also top notch, although its size means it does stretch the definition of the term portable somewhat. We especially like the disco dance floor style keyboard, which has been illuminating our faces in many a dark and dingy gaming session for some time now.

Best laptop for photography

Apple 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display
Apple’s 15-inch Macbook Pro with Retina Display is hugely expensive. This is a laptop that only those after something really special should consider. For a photographer though, there really can’t be any other.

15-inch MacBook Pro

The Macbook Pro’s trump card is pretty simple; it has a display with a resolution of 2880 x 1800. This translates to a pixel density of 220 ppi. For a photographer, this kind of resolution means images display much closer to their native resolution. It means you get more detail at a glance and sharper images to work with when zoomed in.

Best laptop for music

HP Envy 14 Spectre
HP’s Envy 14 ships with Beats Audio thrown in. This means you get far more audio grunt than you find on a normal laptop. Bass is also bulked out a lot more, so no tinny sounding tracks.

HP Envy 14 Spectre

The Spectre 14 doesn’t stop at just beefed up speakers though. A hardware button which acts like a shortcut to the Beats control panel will let you tweak audio like a proper EQ. Then there is a hardare volume scroll and even a dedicated mute button, all things you don’t often see on laptops now, but all great for music fans.

Best budget alternative laptop

Samsung Series 5  Chromebook
A budget laptop is a difficult choice. There are a lot of bargains to be had on websites like eBay and Gumtree, hence why we have gone for something alternative here, should you fancy doing it differently.

Samsung Series 5  Chromebook

Samsung’s Chromebook is the best of what has been a fairly difficult bunch. Chrome OS itself is now a far more complex and featured piece of kit and the laptop can now be had for less than £300 if you look hard enough.
 

Best laptop for movies

Asus Zenbook Prime UX31A
Asus’s Zenbook Prime is a bit of a movie watching machine. First on the checklist is that top quality Full HD 1080p IPS screen, which is going to make for the best possible movie watching experience.

Asus Zenbook Prime UX31A

On top of that though, is a set of Bang and Olufsen designed ICE Power speakers, which will mean you get enough audio grunt to go along with your movies. Asus also hasn’t scrimped on the design front, with the ZenBook Prime being one of our favourite looking laptops available right now.

Best luxury laptop

Munk Bogballe Emerald
If money is no object then there are a few laptops which spring to mind. The top of the line Retina Display MacBook Pro is definitely one of them. However for a really pricey alternative there can only be one victor.

Munk Bogballe Emerald Display MacBook Pro

The Munk Bogballe Emerald trashes the MacBook in the price department. With a starting price of €5800, the Emerald is easily one of the most expensive laptops we have come across. Why exactly? Because the whole thing is tailor made exactly to your specifications. Calf leather and oil treated mahogany are among some of the materials used to create this incredibly premium piece of kit.