Top Branded Laptops with high rate selling:

Top Branded Laptops:

Acer:

           Although the Acer brand doesn’t carry as much clout in the United States as it does in other parts of the world, Acer is one of the largest PC vendors in the world. This is an accomplishment which Acer has only recently been able to boast of, as Acer had been one of the smaller vendors until recently.

In the United States market the Acer brand generally stands for value. Acer’s Aspire One netbooks and laptops have consistently been among the least expensive products in their respective markets. Acer is not alone in this pursuit of value, however, and is sometimes unable to undercut competitors like ASUS and Dell.

In terms of overall build quality and design, Acer tends to lag noticeably behind the competition. It is rare for an Acer product to have a serious design problem, but lack-luster displays, flexible keyboards, and flimsy construction plague many Acer products. Acer products generally earn recommendations because they provide powerful hardware relative to their price, not because the products are well put together. Exceptions include the new Acer Ultrabooks and some of the Timeline laptops.

Apple:
              Everyone knows Apple’s reputation. The brand is known for expensive, high quality products which are inflexible in terms of customization but are extremely well put together.

This reputation is one which is well deserved. From a design standpoint, Apple is on top of the world. Even their least expensive product, the white plastic MacBook, feels more solid than most competing laptops. The aluminum MacBook Pro line is in a class of its own. The MacBook Pro laptops have excellent keyboards, best-in-class displays, and large trackpads with solid multi-touch support. It is very, very rare for a MacBook Pro to not receive an editor’s choice award in a review.

Overall reliability doesn’t quite live up to Apple’s can-do-no-wrong reputation, but is still robust. Consumer Reports rates Apple’s failure rate at 17%, a little better than average, while Squaretrade rates the two-year failure rate at just over 10%, which is just slightly above average.

If something does go wrong, however, you’re very likely to end up with a happy resolution. Apple’s customer service is the best in the industry. This is thanks to short hold times and prompt resolution of problems. The Apple Store also gives Apple customers the option to visit the Genius Bar, where users can meet with a technician face-to-face.

ASUS:

                       One of the industry’s most innovative brands, ASUS is another example of a manufacturer which was not that well known in the North American market but which has recently been able to pick up steam. As with Acer, part of ASUS’s popularity has come from the outstanding value represented by many of ASUS’s laptops. Unlike Acer, however, ASUS is known for creating well designed, innovative products on the cutting edge of consumer laptop technology.

This is most apparent in their netbooks and ultraportable laptops. The ASUS Eee PC line is arguably the brand which proved that there was a market for netbooks, and over the last two years the Eee PC netbooks have been consistently superb. ASUS also has revolutionary ultraportables using ultra-low voltage processors which are capable of eight hours of battery life. Gaming laptops are another strong point of the brand, as the G53 and new G73 both provide excellent performance and value.

ASUS has been able to back up its innovative products with a solid reputation for reliability and customer service. While Consumer Reports lacks enough data to rank ASUS, Squaretrade’s data shows that ASUS laptops are the most reliable in their survey with a two year failure rate under 10%. Customer service is good over the phone, but the tech support website is confusing to navigate. 

Dell / Alienware:

                               Once the world’s largest laptop brands, Dell took some lumps after the turn of the century which resulted in a loss of market share. Dells were functional, but boring. In response, Dell has dramatically stepped up its efforts to provide innovative laptops such as the Dell XPS and Alienware M11x.

Yet in spite of those efforts, Dell’s real strength remains in mainstream laptops. The Dell Inspiron laptops are generally good value, and I’ve particularly liked the Inspiron 14z I recently reviewed. The Vostro small business laptops are also decent choices for consumers, and some can be had with better-than-average warranties at no extra charge. Dell’s mainstream offerings are made more attractive by numerous customization options. While most laptop manufacturers sell just a handful of pre-configured models with a couple of options, Dell offers a wide range of options including better display panels and discrete graphics.

In addition, Dell’s Alienware brand is more competitive with ever, offering solid gaming laptops at prices that are competitive with many other boutique brands like Origin and Maingear (which are not covered here due to their small volume).

The reliability of Dell’s laptops is either average or poor, depending on who you ask. While Squaretrade ranked Dell in the middle of the pack with a two year failure rate of around 12%, Consumer Reports ranks Dell last with a failure rate of 20%. Dell’s customer service seems to be improving thanks to lower phone support hold times and better problem resolution. However, Dell could still do better in this area. 

HP:

            Currently the world’s largest PC brand, Hewlitt Packard offers a huge variety of laptops. Design quality is, unfortunately, all over the map. HP’s ProBook business line and Envy line of premium laptops are both examples of what HP is capable of. HP also makes some very solid netbooks, such as the HP Mini 311.

The company’s mainstream Pavilion laptops have shown improvement over the last year. HP appears to be taking design elements from its upscale Envy line and applying them to less expensive laptops, which results in better-looking and more functional products. HP is doing a good job of making sure these improvements cover most of their range, and the number of their laptops that I would consider of average quality or better is increasing. Most HP laptops now feel solid and are pleasant to use.

HP’s reliability is among the worst in the industry. According to Squaretrade, HP laptops have a two year failure rate of around 16%, making HP the least reliable brand in their findings. Consumer Reports has little better to say, ranking HP as the second worst with a failure rate of 19%. HP’s customer service has improved substantially in over the last year, however. Laptop Magazine found that HP representatives were helpful and hold times were under 2 minutes. You may never even have to call, however, thanks to HP’s solid web support.

Lenovo:

              Spun off from IBM’s personal computing division, Lenovo is carries the sacred torch of the Thinkpad business laptop brand. Thankfully, it has treated this well regarded brand with respect. Today’s Thinkpads are among the best ever constructed. The T, X, and W series Thinkpads are particularly good. They offer the most durable construction in the industry, amazing keyboards and excellent trackpads.

In addition to the Thinkpad line, Lenovo has also created the new IdeaPad group of consumer computers. Quality of these products varies, but has been improving over time. The Z series is a solid if unexciting line of mainstream laptops, while the U series offers unique, luxurious build quality and design. Lenovo’s IdeaPads are often a great value, but suffer from poor battery life.

Surprisingly, Lenovo’s reliability isn’t outstanding. Squaretrade ranks Lenovo as fourth worst brand in the industry, with two year failure rates of around 13%, while Consumer Reports places Lenovo in the middle of the pack with a failure rate of 17%. Customer service is good, however, thanks to average hold times and helpful staff. It also seems that Lenovo still makes extensive use of IBM customer service centers located in the United States, which means that there is no language barrier to deal with (unless you have trouble understanding a southern accent!)

Verdict: B+

Samsung:

                   A relatively new and still small laptop brand, Samsung has been trying hard to muscle its way into the market. Samsung is, of course, a very large consumer electronics brand that sells everything from HDTVs to phones, and their quality in other markets has generally been good. So far this quality seems to be trickling into their laptop products as well.

From a design standpoint, Samsung’s products tend to be uninspiring, a few exceptions aside. Unfortunately, the company has been spinning its wheels in this regard, and many of the newer Samsung laptops seem no more attractive – and in some cases, less attractive – than those sold a year or two ago. Because competitors like HP and Dell are making strides in the areas of build quality and design, Samsung is becoming less competitive.

Reliability is still up in the air because of Samsung’s status as a new player on the market. As is often the case with the newer brands, Samsung’s website provides poor customer support. The phone support is accurate and quick, but because other companies have made improvements to their own service, this is no longer as pleasing. 

Sony:

             Sony is the closet thing which the laptop market has to a premium brand (with the obvious exclusion of Apple). There is nothing in Sony’s lineup which is targeted to be a “budget” model. The pricing of their mainstream laptops usually starts around $600, and Sony offers numerous models above $1000. Sony is competitive in most markets, although the brand doesn’t offer a dedicated line of gaming laptops and doesn’t compete in the sub-$400 netbook market.

You don’t always get what you pay for. I’ve been disappointed by some of Sony’s recent laptop offerings. The problem is not that they’re becoming worse, but that competition is getting better. Vaio laptops that once were head-and-shoulders above the rest in design and quality now seem average. At least Sony still offers crazy colors – if you want a pink or lime green laptop, this is your brand.

The reliability of Sony’s products is about average. Squaretrade rates Sony as having a two year failure rate of just over 10%, making Sony the third most reliable brand. Consumer Reports ranks Sony as being the third least reliable brand with a failure rate of 18%. Sony also offers good customer service. Sony provides very comprehensive web service and hold times are short if you do need to call in. 

Toshiba:

                 One of the oldest players in the laptop market, Toshiba paints itself with an extremely broad brush. The brand doesn’t seem to boast itself as being a specialist in any one area and instead does everything. Netbooks, gaming laptops, mainstream laptops, ultraportables – if there is a market, this brand offers a product in it.

Usually this results in a dumbing-down of the brand overall, but Toshiba offers excellent products in every category. It is particularly strong, however, in netbooks, multimedia laptops and ultraportables.

Toshiba’s great products are backed up by great reliability. Squaretrade ranks Toshiba as the second most reliable brand with a two year failure rate of just under 10%. Consumer Reports gives Toshiba the top spot, with a failure rate of 15%. Customer service is average, thanks largely to a website which isn’t as helpful as it could be. If you have to call in you’ll typically find that hold times are short and that the customer service representatives are helpful.

Verdict: A-