Halloween has yet to arrive, but according to major retailers, the holiday shopping season is well under way. Head to your local big box electronics store, and you'll encounter new laptops that were granted shelf space at the beginning of the month.
We've lined up 20 such models for our holiday retail laptop review roundup. We're working our way up from the bottom, starting at a bargain basement $500 model and passing through many mainstream models on our way to a fully loaded $1,849 Sony Vaio. We've completed the entry-level quartet and have a clear favorite: the Acer Aspire 5735-4624.
Winner: When we reviewed the Aspire 5735 two weeks ago, Best Buy was running a promotion that knocked $100 off the price. Sadly, that discount is no longer offered, but this 15.6-inch laptop is still a bargain at its $499 list price. For starters, it offers similar specs and performance to models from Dell and Gateway that cost $150 more, and more muscle than an AMD-based Compaq that costs $50 more. And while it might not appeal to everyone, the extra-wide 16:9 aspect ratio screen makes movie viewing a treat.
The Acer Aspire 5735 is a deal at $500.
Any entry-level laptop must cut some corners, and the Acer is no different. Still, we didn't find any deal breakers here. The plastic chassis flexes a bit, the screen resolution isn't as fine as that of some smaller displays, and the 16:9 aspect ratio display makes the laptop a bit of a wide body for daily travel. The mouse buttons are clacky, and the keyboard feels cramped because it must make room for a separate number pad. And some features commonly found on (admittedly more expensive) multimedia laptops had to be jettisoned, including discrete graphics, an HDMI port, and a Webcam.
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Acer Aspire 5735: You won't find a larger laptop for less.
(Credit: Matthew Elliott/CBS Interactive)Our resident cheapskate spied the Acer Aspire 5735 earlier this week. I just finished reviewing this 15.6-inch laptop and have only minor quibbles with what amounts to a ridiculous deal. The Aspire 5735 lists for $499 but is currently selling at Best Buy for $399. I mean, how critical can one be of such a low-cost, fully featured laptop? With a cheap laptop, all you really need to know is that it is not terrible. And after banging on the Aspire 5735 this week, I can tell you that it is not terrible.
The plastic chassis flexes a bit, the screen resolution isn't as fine as that of some smaller displays, and the 16:9 aspect ratio display makes the laptop a bit of a wide body. The mouse buttons are clacky, and the keyboard feels cramped because it must make room for a separate number pad. And some features commonly found on (admittedly much more expensive) multimedia laptops had to be jettisoned, including discreet graphics, an HDMI port, and a Webcam.
The pluses, however, far outweigh these negatives. It offers similar features and performance as current Best Buy models that cost $250 more, and its dual-core Pentium chip offers much more performance than the single-core Atom processor found in most Netbooks. It also offers Draft N Wi-Fi, which came as a surprise since many mainstream laptops still offer only 802.11b/g connections. Movies and HD content fit the 16:9 aspect ratio, and though it's not the best LCD you're likely to encounter, it does provide a roomy screen for your entertainment purposes
Although it's priced lower than many Netbooks, I doubt the Aspire 5735 will woo many would-be Netbook buyers since it's a much different animal than a machine with a 9- or 10-inch display and a sub 3-pound weight. At these prices, however, perhaps you don't need to decide between the two. If I were in the market for a new laptop, I might split my budget and grab the Aspire 5735 for my home machine and a Netbook for when I'm on the road. At a combined $800 to $900, I'd get two machines for the price of one (mainstream) model.
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