This 12.5in HP EliteBook laptop packs an Intel Core i5-2540M CPU and a DVD burner in its small base, which are features that make it both a powerful and a well-equipped business tool. It has strong build quality and it feels comfortable to type on thanks to a good keyboard, but it does feel quite heavy for what it is. Part of that is due to the built-in DVD burner, and also because of the six-cell battery that sits in the spine.
The ThinkPad Edge E320 (129834M) is a 13.3in, Intel Core i3-based laptop that's designed for small business users. However, it's a great model for home users and students to consider as well: it has a decent features list, long battery life, it's very comfortable to use and it even looks good. There's not much wrong with this laptop at all, although we think its touchpad and screen could be better and we wish it came with USB 3.0 and a solid state drive as standard (a 128GB SSD is an option).
The Samsung SCX-5637FR is a monochrome, laser multifunction device that's designed for small business users. It can be used to print, scan, photocopy and send and receive faxes, and it can be connected via USB or Gigabit Ethernet. It has a straightforward design with a primitive 4-line LCD menu display, but it also includes Web features that allow for more convenient monitoring and management. It also has onboard storage that allows regularly-used documents to be stored directly on the printer for quick access.
The aluminium-finished HP ProBook 5330m looks a lot more expensive than it actually is. It's a $999, 13.3in laptop with a full-voltage Second Generation Intel Core i3 CPU, 4GB of RAM and a 500GB hard drive located in its 17mm thin chassis. It's designed for business users who want something reasonably small and stylish that can be easily transported, and we think it's a great proposition considering its low price.
One of the nicest 13.3in business laptops on the Australian market
A laptop that's designed specifically with Lamborghini car enthusiasts in mind.
The new Sony VAIO Z is perhaps the ultimate corporate tool. It's impossibly thin and light, yet it packs a Second Generation Core i7 CPU, 8GB of DDR3 SDRAM and dual, 256GB SSDs in a RAID 0 configuration. Boot up time is around 15 seconds and running time on batteries can be as long as 13 hours with the optional battery slice.
With Intel's Second Generation Core CPUs starting to get a foothold in the Australian market, and AMD's Fusion offering some very interesting low-cost ultraportables, there has never been a better time than now to purchase a new laptop.
The Lenovo ThinkPad W520 (428426M) is a 15.6-inch workstation laptop that's designed for users who want fast performance for graphics, video, design or programming work. It has a typically business-style design and a lot of high-end features.
The Nikon Coolpix L120 is a relatively cheap megazoom camera that's dead simple to use. There is nothing difficult about this camera at all — simply point it, adjust the zoom if it tickles your fancy, and press the shutter button. The camera will do all the work and you won't have to think about any exposure settings at all. You can select a scene mode or a different ISO setting if you want to, but that's about it.
HP's Pavilion dm1 (dm1-3010AU) is an 11.6-inch, 1.5kg netbook that runs AMD's Fusion platform. It's not a typical netbook though, and not quite a full-blown laptop either -- it offers better CPU and graphics performance than an Intel Atom-based netbook, and it's slightly bigger and has better connectivity, but it's not as powerful as a cheap 15.6in laptop. You can use the Pavilion dm1 for basic office work, social networking, as well as for watching videos on your TV.
Toshiba's Tecra R850 is one of the more stylish Sandy Bridge-based business computers on the market. It's a 15.6-inch model that's thin (around 26mm), very well built, and relatively light (2.49kg). With a full-sized keyboard and a dual-pointing device, it's also quite comfortable to use. However, the out-of-box experience isn't great as it takes a long time to set up initially, and it also comes with lots of pre-installed software that can get in the way.
The Samsung Series 9 notebook is one of the thinnest and lightest 13.3-inch notebooks on the Australian market to feature a Second Generation Intel Core i5 CPU. It's beautifully designed and crafted and it feels very comfortable to use, whether you're typing at a desk or on your lap. With a price tag of $2499, it's not cheap, but it's definitely worth it if you want superb mobility and build quality as well as very decent performance for office and multimedia tasks.
The thin and light 13.3-inch Toshiba Portege R700 (PT311A-00J00Q) adds something that was missing from previous Portege notebooks that business users will appreciate: fast performance. Even though it weighs 1.45kg and its base is only around 19mm thick, the Portege R700 packs in an Intel Core i5-520M CPU, 4GB of DDR3 SDRAM and a 7200rpm hard drive. The drawback, however, is that it's a notebook whose underside gets very warm and this will definitely be uncomfortable if you plan to rest it on your lap while using it.
The Acer TravelMate TimelineX 8572G is a 15.6-inch notebook designed to appease business users. It's based on an Intel Core i7-620M dual-core CPU, so you know it's fast, and it has a reasonably light weight and slim profile compared to other notebooks in its class. However, its screen isn't great and it also doesn't come with a digital video output as standard.
