The end of 2012, and maybe the end of life as we know it, is coming up in less than a month; so this is the perfect time to look back at the year and reflect on the best it had to offer. Now, it certainly hasn’t been a huge year for laptops as tablets continue to take market share and become more of the solution for mobile computing for the average user, but there are still those who need laptops for school, work, or personal reasons, and the introduction of Windows 8 is starting to blur the lines between PCs and tablets. So, let’s see what laptops introduced in 2012 have claimed a spot in this top ten list.
10. Acer Aspire S7
The Aspire S7 is one of Acer’s premiere Windows 8 laptops, and as with most new Windows 8 machines, is has a touchscreen display for those very touch-friendly icons and gestures. It comes in a 11.-inch and 13.3-inch models with a thickness of only 12.2-mm and 11.9-mm, respectively. Both models use Gorilla Glass 2 for the touchscreen to make it scratch-resistant, strong, and easy to clean. A neat feature for this particular ultrabook is its ability to open 180 degrees, laying flat on whatever workspace you are using, which makes it great for collaborating or demoing something on the crisp, 1080p display. It comes packing an Intel dual-core i5 processor for 1.7 GHz speeds, 4 GB of RAM, and up to 128 GB SSD storage; all this gives it a total weight of 2.69 lbs.
Availability:
Get a nice little discount from Amazon (Link)
Price:
Normally $1,199.99 but Amazon is offering it right now for $1,169.97.
9. Samsung Series 9
The Samsung Series 9 is the next line of ultrabooks from the South Korean company to compliment Windows 8. You choose between the 13.3-inch or 15-inch models, with varying options for each as well. For the smaller option, you can load up to 4 GB of RAM, 256 GB SSD storage, and an Intel dual-core i7 for 1.9 GHz speeds. For the latter, you can deck this laptop out with 8 GB of RAM, 256 GB SSD, and an Intel dual-core i7 for 1.9 GHz speeds; so there is not too much different between the two, even the screen resolution of 1600×900 stays the same. The 13.3-inch machine will weigh about 2.5 lbs and the 15-inch model being over a pound heavier.
Availability:
Here is what Amazon is offering for the base 13.3-inch model. (Link)
Price:
13.3-inch: $1,299.99 – $1,699.99, 15-inch: $1,399.99 – $1,799.99
8. Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon
To start off, this ultrabook has a unique screen size of 14-inches so you don’t have to make up your mind between the perhaps-too-small 13-inch option or the slightly-chunky 15-inch option. The resolution will be 1600×900 with an anti-glare option, and the entire thing will weight just under 3 lbs. You can boost this laptop to 8 GB of RAM, 256 GB SSD storage, Intel dual-core i7, and even 3G data connectivity. It even claims to hold up to 8.2 hours of battery life along with being another ultrabook with the ability to open 180 degrees flat.
Availability:
Amazon claims the best deal for this ultrabook. (Link)
Price:
Starting at, $1,249.00
7. Alienware M17x
This is one of the few laptops on the list that will not be running Windows 8 upon arrival, and that is because it is a classic gaming laptop, where Windows 8 is lacking in support at the moment. It may not be the lightest or most portable laptop on the list either but this machine can surely pack a punch when fully loaded. If you’re a hardcore PC gamer and wanted to load this laptop up, you could choose to have up to 32 GB of RAM, an Intel quad-core i7 processor for 3.8GHz speeds, a 1TB of SSD storage, 17.3-inch 1920x1080p screen, Blu-Ray enabled optical drive, and a 2GB GDDR5 NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 680M for peak graphics performance. All of that will only set you back about $4,500 so starting saving that birthday money now.
Availability:
You can customize your own at Dell’s website. (Link)
Price:
$1,699 base price.
6. Lenovo Yoga
This laptop is actually one of the unique new concepts inspired by Microsoft’s new touch-friendly OS, Windows 8. While some new ultrabooks can lay flat after opening 180 degrees, the Yoga can double that feat and, essentially, flip inside out and making it a Windows 8 tablet. It comes in the 13.3-inch variety with a 1600×900 resolution IPS screen, up to 8 GB of RAM, 128 GB of SSD storage, and dual-core Intel i7 processor. It is quite a heavy ultrabook starting at 3.4 lbs, and a little chunky as a tablet but a unique design nonetheless.
Availability:
Best Buy has the best price (Link)
Price:
$999 starting price
