Dell Inspiron 14z

The good: A clean, slim design, a backlit keyboard, very good battery life, strong performance, and an affordable price make the Dell Inspiron 14z more useful than most thinned-down laptops.

The bad: Limited upgrade options and no dedicated graphics might turn off some who need more flexibility, and flip-down port doors are a minor annoyance.

The bottom line: The Dell Inspiron 14z thins down the bulky look of the average Inspiron laptop while sacrificing none of the performance or battery life, adding up to an affordable mainstream notebook that's an excellent late consideration for back-to-school shopping.

Toshiba Qosmio F755-3D290 Glasses-Free 3D laptop

The good: The Toshiba Qosmio F755-3D290 offers surprisingly good glasses-free 3D video playback, built into a decent high-end midsize laptop, with eye-tracking software to adjust the image on the fly.

The bad: The 3D effect works best for a single viewer, and can still be finicky at times. Games and online 3D video don't work yet, although future updates are promised. Playback of 3D content is at a lower resolution than 2D content.

The bottom line: More of a proof-of-concept than anything else, the glasses-free 15-inch 3D display on the Toshiba Qosmio F755 can be impressive when paired with the right content.

HP Envy 14 (Summer 2011)

The good: The HP Envy 14 gets updated with newer Intel processors and a new multitouch touch pad.

The bad: Despite the improvements, the touch pad gestures still can't match what you get from Apple's trackpad.

The bottom line: 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.

Best 5 laptops

Here's a list of what I consider as the top 5 laptops

reviewed here at 

best laptop ever

Apple MacBook Air (13-inch, Summer 2011)

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.

Apple MacBook Air (15-inch, fall 2010)

 It's a hefty investment, but the combination of new high-end Intel processor options and AMD graphics makes the 15-inch MacBook Pro an all-around powerhouse, with the new Thunderbolt I/O port as an added bonus.

Alienware M11x (spring 2011)

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.

  

Apple MacBook Air (11-inch, Summer 2011)

The good: The new 11-inch Apple MacBook Air is dramatically faster than last year's version, has a backlit keyboard, and comes with a high-speed Thunderbolt I/O port.

 

The bad: The $999 entry-level Air still has the same limited fixed flash storage and RAM as last year's version, which most people will want to upgrade from--and there's still no SD card slot, Ethernet port, or 3G wireless option.

The bottom line: 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.

Toshiba Qosmio X775-3DV78 3D Laptop

The good: The Toshiba Qosmio X775-3DV78 is a stereoscopic 3D laptop with excellent CPU performance and high-end graphics. The Nvidia 3D Vision system works as advertised. Tons of RAM and hard-drive space and a Blu-ray-RW drive are part of a big feature list.

 

The bad: Bulky and heavy, this isn't a laptop that's ever likely to leave a desk--especially with its unsurprisingly poor battery life.

The bottom line: Those in the market to spend more than $1,000 and get a 3D-enabled, Blu-ray-equipped laptop with plenty of horsepower for games should strongly consider Toshiba's latest high-end Qosmio. It's not cheap or portable by any means, but it's certainly powerful.

Dell XPS 17 3D

The good: The Dell XPS 17 3D is a sharp-looking desktop replacement that can handle 3D content, as well as output 3D movies and games to a compatible 3DTV. Highly configurable, the more-expensive options are powerful indeed.

The bad: Some wonky stereoscopic 3D issues make this less plug-and-play than a 3DTV, and the 17-inch version of the XPS has not gotten the same slim makeover the 15-inch version has.

The bottom line: Dell's XPS 17 3D is for those who want a powerful media and gaming 17-inch laptop, but in a more aesthetically upscale package than offered by Dell's Alienware brand. The stereoscopic 3D is gimmicky, but a certain breed of PC gamer will love it.