1. Dell Chromebook 11
The Dell Chromebook 11 is an affordable machine that does not feel or look like it was made on a budget. Compared to its competitors, this Dell falls in line with the specs already set by other Chrome laptops on the market.
At the same time, it also has two USB 3.0 ports. What sets it apart, though, is its impressive longevity, which makes it perfect for anyone who wants to get away from the outlet with a mobile hotspot in tow.
We even recommend checking out what Dell has on offer before the Acer or HP offerings. For school and/or leisure, the Dell Chromebook 11 is a no brainer. For now, Dell leads the Chromebook class with the best-looking and longest-lasting Chrome laptop yet.
2. Asus X102BA
At this price point, the Asus X102BA is surprisingly good. We fully expected a similar performance to that of its closest rival, the HP Pavilion TouchSmart 11, but it betters it in almost every respect - its in-Windows performance is better, the screen is superior and it's much lighter too.
It's not the ideal option for business users, but for students or young kids this is almost the perfect device, thanks to its ability to function as both tablet and useable laptop when needed.
Your only dilemma now, thanks to competition from Acer, is whether you buy this or go for the almost identical offering - both in spec and price - in the form of the Acer V5-122P.
3. Acer C720 Chromebook
It comes as no surprise that the first and most affordable budget laptop we're highlighting is a Chromebook. If you're after something that will handle basic word processing and spreadsheets, browsing the web over Wi-Fi and watching YouTube clips then the Acer C720 is a steal.
At this price you also have to expect compromises: the 1.40GHz Intel Celeron processor and Intel HD Graphics are up to a lot of tasks, and also help to secure 8.5 hours of battery life, but can't cope with intensive tasks such as video editing. Storage is scarce to a 16GB SDD is supplied, but then you're expected to embrace the cloud and suck up the 100GB of free Google Drive space that comes with the purchase.
The 11.6-inch TFT screen is also on the dull side with a limited viewing angle, and the keyboard refuses to offer decent feedback. But these are to be expected and the overall package is a bargain.
4. Toshiba Chromebook
Surprisingly, the build quality on display from the Toshiba Chromebook is impressive, managing a sturdy build in a plastic frame with even a bit of style. So the lid is a tad wobbly with its two plastic hinges, but what do you want for under $300? Besides, the keyboard and click pad don't disappoint - something that's common in the budget space.
Even for such a low-power system, 6 to 7 hours of endurance is longer than most Windows laptops can claim. Another plus is how quickly this Chromebook charges, meaning less time tethered to an outlet overall. As far as software goes, Chrome OS has an answer for almost all of your everyday apps and services. The Chrome Store is slowly growing to meet needs beyond that of the general user.
The Toshiba Chromebook is the perfect Baby Boomer laptop, not to mention the mileage students would get out of this machine. Looking for an incredibly affordable mobile computer that does, well, what you do most on the computer? This Chromebook is a wise choice.
5. HP Chromebook 11
Even if you're used to high end computers such as the MacBook Pro or Samsung ATIV Book 9, every time you pick up the HP Chromebook 11 you get a little jolt of pleasure.
It feels solid - light yet sturdy. The keyboard is genuinely very good. The IPS screen's colors are rich and vibrant. The styling feels fresh, simple, clean and friendly. It feels, in short, like a beautifully made, simple to use computer.
Our only major complaint was about power. It's not unreasonable to be demanding a full eight hours' use from a laptop today, though the microUSB charging is a nice touch. It's a quarter of the price of even the cheapest 11-inch MacBook Air and it's far more than a quarter as lovely.
6. Acer Aspire V5
Looking at the quality build of the Acer Aspire V5-122P, it's easy to fall into the trap of comparing it to the Aspire's high-end siblings and end up grumbling over its performance. Its budget limitations are squarely reflected in the internals: AMD's A6-1460, which includes Radeon HD 8250 graphics, backed by 4GB DDR3 RAM and capable of dealing with HD video playback, basic productivity tasks and some simple editing software, but not much more.
Equally, the 1,366 x 768 native resolution of the 11.6-inch TFT screen is, as you may have spotted by now, pretty standard on budget laptops and in this case benefits from a bright LED backlight.
Yet again, battery life rears its ugly head and only briefly, as the Asus achieves a measly 92 minutes against our Battery Eater test, and slightly more respectable two hours of general use.
The Aspire V5 is a stylish looking budget portable but very much a mixed bag. Ultimately, it's an adequate budget laptop running Windows 8 and, therefore, worth considering.
7. HP Pavilion 15
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Sports car manufacturers might disagree, but its yet to be proven that the colour red will make a thing go faster on it's own, but it does make the HP Pavilion 15 stand out from other less stylish laptops at this budget price.
Make no mistake though, this is a budget laptop powered by an AMD APU, which combines both the graphics and the processor into one chip.
The overall experience is still peppy in Windows 8, and unless you plan to use it for video editing, the Pavilion 5 will handle all the usual document and spreadsheet work, film watching and web browsing you can throw at its way. It will also give you a respectable 5 hours of battery life in the process.
The 15.6-inch TN display isn't going to make film watching an earth-moving experience, though and the keyboard, as is often the case at this price, isn't very responsive.
Take a look, if you're looking for a tidy portable on a tight budget and need a full Windows 8 OS.
8. Asus V550CA
The Asus V550CA does a good job of balancing power and price, and at this price It's no surprise the Intel Core i7 packed isn't the latest: it's an Ivy Bridge, which means its last gen but still very capable.
There are no frills here in spec terms as it's designed to be a straightforward laptop for covering the needs of office work with good storage, web browsing and a bit of casual gaming.
You shouldn't expect to use the V5550CA for anything more as the integrated Intel HD Graphics 4000 are mediocre befitting the low resolution of the 15.6-inch TFT screen on offer.
But this a capable laptop with a nice brushed aluminium lid and a generally appealing style, if you want cutting edge performance, you'll need to pay more.
9. Lenovo G500s
Lenovo has a habit of pumping out similarly named products at a brisk trot and the G500s is essentially an update to the Lenovo G505.
The G500s comes with an Intel Pentium 2020M processor, 8GB of memory and integrated Intel HD graphics, which means it will handle Windows 8 and day to day use smoothly enough, along with the likes of HD video playback on it's sizeable screen.
That's 720p HD, however, not full 1020p HD as we're still looking at a native resolution of 1,366 x 768. Demanding tasks are firmly off the table, though. You won't be playing games like Titanfall on this portable.
The G500s isn't the most portable of devices at 2.5kg, which amounts to hefting around a small bag of potatoes, which makes it more suitable as a stay at home device.
We also didn't find that keyboard gave much feedback when typing, which caused a bit too many mis-types for our liking. But overall, this is a steady but mundane workmate with a good battery life.
While a few of the budget laptops have included touchscreen technology, it's now time to sing along to Diana Ross' 'Touch me in the Morning' and get those screens all smeary with a look at the best of the laptop-tablet hybrids.
10. Lenovo Yoga 11S
The 11.6-inch Lenovo Yoga 11S laptop is a flexible machine that can fold over from a typical laptop stance to a stand position, to a position with the keyboard behind the screen, ready for delivering presentations.
It comes with HDMI, SD card and USB ports, and boasts a surprisingly impressive Intel Core i7 processor, 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD for storage. The screen is sharp and bright, though not full HD, and works well with Windows 8. It's also nicely light and small for portability.
You can easily use the Yoga 11S as you would any other laptop, replete with a full QWERTY keyboard.
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